Speeding drivers take young passengers on deadly ride

Two in three young people say they have been a passenger in a speeding car, and more than half of those put their lives at risk by not asking the driver to slow down, Co-operative Insurance (CIS) and Brake reveal in a survey of 4,500 young people.

In the survey young people aged 15 to 25 were questioned and 65% said they had been a passenger in a car driven at more than 40mph in a 30mph limit or more than 70mph on a rural road. Of these, only 42% asked the driver to slow down which suggest that although some have got the message a large proportion have not. Speed is a factor in a third of fatal road crashes and breaking a limit by just a few miles per hour can be lethal. A pedestrian is twice as likely to die if they are hit at 35mph rather than 30mph.

David Neave, CIS Director of General Insurance commented, “Clearly too many young people are risking their lives by allowing themselves to be a passenger in a vehicle where the driver is prepared to exceed the speed limit. More needs to be done to educate young drivers on the horrific consequences speeding can have on people’s lives. Whether that be the introduction of road safety education in to the national curriculum or the introduction of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) both would play an important role”.

“As a responsible insurer our role isn’t just about picking up the pieces when dealing with the resultant claims. Our message is clear – let’s stop the growing number of fatalities, don’t bow to ‘peer pressure’ if you feel that the driver is irresponsible and may break the speed limit don’t get in the car – it could be the most important decision you will ever make”.

Government statistics show that in 2005 a shocking 1,297 people died and a further 11,535 were seriously injured in a crash involving a driver or rider aged 15 to 25. That’s 35 deaths and serious injuries every day. In total in 2005, there were 3,201 deaths and 28,954 serious injuries on UK roads. Young drivers account for just one in eight licence holders.

The deadly issue of speeding is one of the major risks of the road spelt out to young people in CIS’s and Brake’s recently-launched survival guide for students in schools and colleges, entitled Too Young to Die. The comprehensive FREE resource pack for educators includes a hard-hitting DVD and accompanying hand-out booklets, plus a Department for Transport-backed PowerPoint presentation.

Jools Townsend, Head of Education at Brake, said: “Now is the time for the Government to take action and tackle the problem of risk-taking young drivers. Too many people have died due to a deadly combination of inexperience and recklessness among many young drivers. More will die if positive steps are not taken immediately to educate young people and reform the learning to drive process. Young drivers think they have their whole lives ahead of them and they don’t realise that one mistake on the road could end that life suddenly and violently. The Government has a duty to society to ensure every young person gets an education in road safety and introduce a more structured system of training and testing novices.”

Bereaved mother Helen Evans, of Manchester, is backing Brake’s campaign to educate young drivers about the deadly dangers of speeding and warn young people against getting into cars with risk-taking drivers. Helen’s 21-year-old daughter Katie was killed in October 2004. She had been at a party and was walking home with a friend when someone they knew stopped and offered them a lift in his new car. They accepted. The driver, 25, who was later found in court to be speeding as well as drink driving, lost control and hit a tree. Katie was thrown from the vehicle and killed instantly. Katie’s friend and the driver were both injured. The driver was later sentenced to five years in prison.

Helen says: “A young speeding, drunk driver changed my family’s lives forever. Too many young people think speeding is exciting and a bit of a laugh. My daughter got into a car with a young man who took her life by his dangerous actions behind the wheel. He had been drinking and was speeding. Katie was in the back seat when he lost control and hit a tree. The car split in two from the force of the crash. I urge every young driver to stick to the rules of the road, never drinking and driving or speeding, for their own sake and the sake of their passengers. Young people just don’t realise that they could kill themselves, or kill others and have to live with their mistake for the rest of their lives.”