Ford is investing millions in free driving lessons for 18- to 24-year-olds

Car crashes are the leading cause of death of 18- to 24-year-olds in Europe

So far 13,500 drivers in 11 countries have benefitted from the training (Alamy)

Thousands of young people in Europe are to get free driving lessons from Ford.

The carmaker is investing Ford is investing €2.9 million in 2016 to teach 7,000 18- to 24-year-olds across Europe how to drive in hands-on lessons that warn about the dangers posed by drugs, alcohol and using social media behind the wheel.

Ford has invested €9.6 million in its Driving Skills for Life prgramme since 2013.

So far 13,500 drivers in 11 countries have benefitted from the training, which includes hazard recognition, vehicle handling, speed and space management and distractions.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death of 18- to 24-year-olds in Europe.

AA figures show that drug-driving results in about 400 arrests a month and 200 deaths a year but experts believe a more exact figure of fatalities is closer to double that number.

Edmund King, AA president, said that not all coroners test for drugs in road crashes.

"If alcohol is present they assume that’s the reason yet we know that many teenagers will have a drink then take drugs. They might not be over the drink-drive limit but the drugs affect their driving," King told the Evening Standard.