Programme 5 - Ashley and Steph

• the importance of belonging to a group
• antisocial behaviour

Learners will:

• enhance their understanding of other people's experiences and points of view
• understand better how others see them and how their behaviour can lead to misunderstanding

Ashley, or Ash, and Steph are 19-year-old cousins who share the same passion for cruising in cars. They live with Steph's parents in an upmarket village near Rochdale. They live in a six-car household and both have jobs, but they have an expensive hobby - cruising. They meet up regularly with other cruisers and belong to a club that has 200 members. It gives them a sense of identity. Driving is their life.

Ash loves the speed, the power of being in control and proving himself against the other cruisers. It's exhilarating but dangerous and he's prepared to take the risks involved. Steph loves driving in convoy, which gives her a feeling of togetherness. She doesn't go drinking or dancing so she is happy to spend one third of her salary on the car. Ash, on the other hand, spends three quarters of his salary on his car.

We see them at the Pontyfract cruise meeting, where cruisers have come from six counties. However, the police arrive and break up the meeting. The cruisers think the police add to the entertainment as they play cat and mouse with them.

Ash plays a lot of PlayStation games that he claims help him to be a better driver, but his friends disagree. Next day, however, he's in hospital after injuring his hand by doing manoeuvres in his go-kart. He has to have plastic surgery. This makes Steph think about the real risks involved in cruising.

As their regular club (rude2cruz) has been banned from the retail park they meet in, they decide to use Rochdale town centre as a temporary meeting place. Members of the public are asked their opinion about cruising and are not very understanding. A policeman arrives to warn them about excessive noise and behaviour. The police are very concerned about dangerous driving. Ashley's theory is that it's his car, his money and his insurance so he should be able to do whatever he likes. They don't play loud music in built-up areas, anyway.

Their grandmother visits and doesn't see anything wrong with cruising so long as drink is not involved.