The Under 17 Car Club
Information updated to reflect the 2012 season.News Features
The Club was featured on BBC Midlands Today at 18:00, Sunday 6th November 2011.
The footage can be found on YouTube.
We were also lucky enough to be featured on
Meridian Tonight - link to footage, Monday 7th November 2011 at 7pm.
Interested in joining the Club? We have vacancies for the 2012 season. To apply to join the
Club, request an application form here.
A brief introduction...
As its name suggests, the Club is where young people under the age of 17 can drive motor vehicles.
There are currently about 300 members and the Club is open to anyone - waiting list permitting - who is tall
enough to drive and is between the ages of 12 years and 15 years during the year of joining.
This means youngsters can join when they are 11, provided their 12th birthday occurs during their first season
but once they have had their 15th birthday they are too old.
Get in touch if you are interested in joining for 2012!).
Read about the reasons for the upper age limit HERE.
Our History
The club was founded in 1976 by author Sandy Barrie and racing driver Barrie "Whizzo" Williams who realised there was no opportunity for young people under
seventeen to drive vehicles. The Club is run entirely by volunteers with no full or part time paid staff.
In recognition of its activities, the Club has also been presented with the Prince Michael of Kent Road
Safety Award. Read more about our history.
How long can I be a Member?
Once they have joined, Members can stay in the Club up to and including the season they reach their 17th
birthday. By the time a Club Member is coming up to 17, they will probably be driving better than many licence
holders on the road.
Members are taught to drive by their parents in the parents’ cars with the help of the Club Instructors,
who aim to complete a progress check every 3 or 4 meetings.
Meetings and Venues
We meet most Sundays between February and November at one of our venues and there are
usually in excess of 30 all-day meetings per season. Venues vary from year to year but
this season the Club will be using six different sites stretching from Warwickshire
to Devon and Dorset, but occasionally we may use more than one for selected different grades tackling
different disciplines. We are always on the lookout for additional venues, especially in the Midlands.
We recommend that you do not base your membership of the Club upon the idea of only
ever visiting one particular venue, as each different venue presents its own challenges
and the Club encourages members to experience as wide a variety as possible.
Each season we hold a variety of special events. Members are given many opportunities
to attend First Aid Courses, Skid Pan Sessions as well as take part in Driving Skills
Tests. Throughout the year we hold a number of special events, including a Truck Day,
a charity fundraising day, 4x4 Day, Rally Day, and Caterham driving Day with Caterham UK.
Each year, the Club also holds a Social Weekend away which is a chance to get to know
more about other members in the Club. Since 2005, we have held the weekend in Exeter
and have a Go Karting event, Large evening BBQ as well as a Dinner Dance (with Live Band in 2011)!
More Information on Venues is available here.