FLOWERS were laid, prayers said, and tears shed in two sleepy Fife villages this month as four of their teenagers were buried. Craig Lawson and Steven Garland, both 17, and Mona Halliday and Lisa Donaldson, both 16, were travelling on the Dundee to Kirkaldy road when their Ford Fiesta crashed into a field following a collision. They were all killed instantly. Lisa and Mona were about to sit their highers at Bell Baxter High. Now the school's flag flies limply at half mast.

This tragic accident, which police inspector David McCulloch described as the worst he has seen in 21 years, painfully illustrates the point behind a new campaign for young drivers - the first two years, and especially the first six months, after passing your driving test is a very risky time.

"We don't know if anyone has told them that before, " says Michael McDonnell, the Director of the Scottish Road Safety Campaign. "We are saying your first six months might be your last, if you are not careful."

The facts don't lie:

In 2003, 160 17-to-19-year-old males were killed or seriously injured on Scotland's roads One in five will have an accident in the first year after passing their test.

More than 2992 young drivers were killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads in 2003.

New drivers are twice as likely to have an accident in bad weather.

Michael believes this huge incidence of young people crashing has nothing to do with a lack of skill or ability to drive a car. It is simply to do wit h a lack of experience.

"One of the problems that faces us is, how do we put an old head on young shoulders?"

he says. "It is only really after you've passed your driving test and you are doing it on your own, that you begin to make all the decisions yourself. There is no-one else looking out for you, so you are expected to absorb and process all the information that is coming at you and then make the right decision. And like any skill, that's not possible when you are inexperienced."

David Sloane passed his test last August.

"I'm still quite inexperienced but I would say I'm quite good for my age, " says the teenager.

"I thought I'd be nervous the first time I went out on the road myself, but I was quite excited.

I felt independent and liberated in that I didn't have to have my hands at the 10 to two position."

Newly unleashed upon the roads and at his most vulnerable according to the statistics, does David follow the speed limit to keep himself safe?

"No, " he laughs. "On some roads the speed limits aren't appropriate. If there aren't any pedestrians about and it's not a busy road I drive a bit faster.

"I'm a good driver - I wouldn't be stupid enough to crash. You always hear these stories of young people who have crashed, but I never think it will happen to me."

This is a common attitude which Michael wants to puncture. "What we need to say is, you are not as good as you think you are, " he says. "Young drivers, young male drivers particularly, tend to violate the Highway code more than anyone else. They are more likely to go too fast, they are more likely to follow people, they're more likely to undertake.

"Teenage drivers often feel that their actions won't lead to any consequences: a risky overtake won't lead to anything because other people will pull over and give way.

"All you need are two people thinking that same way, or one person not being attentive . . ."

Research for this new campaign also revealed that young male drivers don't really entertain the the idea that they might die in a car crash.

Losing a limb or their licence are more immediate threats. For female drivers, however, facial disfigurement is their biggest fear.

Not so with Suzanne Brain, who passed her test in December. "My biggest fear in a car accident? That I might die or be paralysed, " says the 17 year-old. "I wouldn't be bothered about a scar, as long as I wake up the next day, " she says.

But she does admit her friends do believe the teenage mantra, "it won't happen to me".

But it did to Derick Linning's pals.

"Some of my mates have already been in an accident, and they just passed their test last year. Some folk do take too many risks out on the road, " he says.

Seventeen-year-old Derick got his licence last month and his friend's crash has inspired him to stick to the speed limit and be aware of his own inexperience. He says he is well aware of how vulnerable new drivers are.

"There are a lot of idiots who are out there driving on the roads, " he says. "You end up with folks jumping out in front of you without indicating as well. It makes me wonder how long I am going to survive out here without getting hit."

So, as this campaign highlights, the statistics prove and the tragic events in Fife show, the widely held belief among new teenage drivers that "it won't happen to me" is not just ill-informed, it's wildly untrue. The fact is, it is more likely to happen to you.

Fresh cuts

On average 2000 young people pass their practical driving test in Scotland each month Fatigue and tiredness account for 10-per cent of all accidents Men aged 18-30 are most at risk from crashing because of fatigue. They account for 50-per cent of these accidents If you are travelling at 35mph, you are twice as likely to kill someone than if you are travelling at 30mph Teenage drivers are more than twice as likely to be killed when they have passengers in their car than if they are driving alone In California, teen drivers cannot have anyone under 20 years old in the car for the first six months after passing their test. Also, they can't drive between midnight and 5am for the first year One-in-10 drivers and front-seat passengers don't wear seatbelts. In the backseat, four in 10 don't bother to belt up Traffic is the biggest killer of 12 to 16-year-olds One in two teens know someone who has

been involved in an accident There are nine deaths on Britain's roads a day There are about 44,000 accidents a year with no attributable cause. In other words, one car every 10 minutes drives off the road for no apparent reason 70-per cent of drivers break the speed limit Two thirds of accidents occur on roads where the speed limit is 30mph or less Each fatal car crash costs society pounds-1.5m Guys are twice as likely to be involved in crashes than girls, but the number of girls in accidents is rising

The spinal fluid around my brain was coming out my nose'

Donald Geddesfrom Ullapool thought he was one of the best young drivers around . . . until he crashed. This is his story...

I PASSED my test on Valentine's Day, 2001, when I was 17. I was really confident because Ihad been driving a wee car on my friend's acres of land since I was 14.

My father owns a haulage company, so I used to travel about with him when Iwas young, so I knew all the roads. There were one or two other young ones who had their licence and you would get a race for three miles down the road and back. I won't deny it, I did that. I've always loved Formula One, rallying, everything to do with speed really. When I was on the road, if I saw a car, I would instantly think I would have to catch up and overtake it.

The thought of crashing never crossed my mind. When you are that age, and you've just passed your test, you just think "It's not going to happen to me".

But it did. I crashed on Thursday, July 19, 2001. I remember driving through the village, leaving the village and about a mile before I had my crash. I can't remember the crash itself. Seemingly I came around the corner when I suddenly swerved across the road and hit the crash barrier at the other side.

The van I was driving rolled two and half times and landed on its roof.

The ambulance and fire brigade had to cut me out and I was flown to Inverness where I was stabilised. The doctor said to my mum, "If Donald pulls through. . ." and she just said, "What do you mean, 'if'?"

Mum told me that's the worst thing she's ever heard.

I was taken to Ninewells in Dundee where I was in intensive care for five days before the doctors phoned my parents to say I'd come round and was swearing at the staff. I was there for two weeks in total, but can't remember much of it.

They moved me back to Inverness, and I was there a week before another setback.

The spinal fluid that circulates around your brain was coming out the fractures in my skull and coming out my nose. So they flew me to Aberdeen, where I went through a 12-hour operation to put metal plates on a hole I had in my skull. They had to cut from ear to ear. I still have the scar lines.

I had three fractures to my skull, with a hole in my forehead. My right eye-socket was smashed. I'm now blind in my right eye. My left eye is now too far in towards my nose, so I have to turn my head slightly to look at people. Because of my injuries I have to be so much more aware of things. I can't play football, Ican't drive. Iwas desperate to be a policeman, ever since I was 11. Iwas just waiting until I was 18 1/2so I could apply. It never came round.

I have to take five tablets a day for the rest of my life. It's for diabetes insipidus.

When you take a drink of anything, your brain reads it and tells your kidneys to concentrate your urine. Now that part of my brain can't tell my kidneys to do that, so I have to take these pills. I also inject myself every night with a growth hormone.

My mum always worried about me. My accident tore my family apart. It causes arguments between everybody. I've come through a lot, but my parents and sisters have come through a heck of a lot as well.

I don't think that young people realise that by going so fast, they might crash and die or have serious life changes like I had.

They don't think when they are doing such speed that they could die in a split second.

There's still some of my friends who still go fast and think "It's not going to happen to me". It can. I thought I was invincible.