Reckless young drivers put lives in danger on rural roads

Young motorists who are poorly prepared for driving on rural roads are putting lives in danger, suggests new research from Autoglass. A national survey of driver habits on country lanes, in association with, Roadsafe, reveals that the under 25s are the most likely to take risks, with over one in three confessing to taking a bend at speed, one in five driving faster than was safe to do so and two thirds admitting to breaking the national speed limit.

Every year, there are around 3,000 fatalities on UK roads. Two thirds of these occur on rural roads with July and August being the peak months for collisions. Yet, according to the Autoglass survey, only a third of young motorists (32%) understand that they are more at risk of an accident when driving on a rural road than other public highways. Out of all drivers of all ages questioned, men are the biggest risk takers, with seven out of ten (69 per cent) admitting to exceeding the speed limit on rural roads compared to half (50 per cent) of women. One in three men (33 per cent) say that they have taken a bend at speed and one in five (18 per cent) have driven faster than they felt was safe.

With one in four male drivers killed or seriously injured on rural roads under the age 25 and road crashes in general being the number one killer of people aged 15 - 24 in the UK, Autoglass is appealing for young drivers to take extra care when driving on country lanes.

Nigel Doggett, managing director at Autoglass, says: “Less traffic on rural roads compared with urban roads and motorways often leads people to think that they are safer to drive on. But rural roads have their own very unique hazards, with high hedgerows, farm animals and slow-moving vehicles, hills, bends and blind corners affecting the view of the road ahead. Combine this with accelerated speeds and the time that a driver has to react is significantly shortened. This is where manoeuvres such as overtaking at speed and on a bend become a serious risk and could be putting lives in danger. On narrow roads, it is virtually impossible to guess the speed of vehicles travelling in the opposite direction and any lack of judgement, especially in those who are inexperienced at driving through the countryside, could be fatal.

“As we enter the peak months for collisions on country lanes, our advice to young drivers and others travelling on rural roads is, even if you think you know the road ahead, watch your speed, beware of hazards, take extra care on bends and do not overtake unless you have a completely clear view of the road ahead.”

The Autoglass research comes at a key time for rural roads safety. The Government is preparing to go to consultation on how new drivers can be better prepared for the challenges of driving on rural roads and in August last year, Department for Transport (DfT) issued new guidelines for local authorities on setting local speed limits.

Adrian Walsh at Roadsafe says: “Most local authorities are taking action in reducing collisions on non-built-up roads under their jurisdiction, introducing speed calming measures including flashing signs, interactive driver information and other road engineering measures to bring speeds down. Yet while there is an undoubted correlation between speeding and crashes, we need to educate drivers themselves, especially among young people, to try and change their driving behaviour. Much more needs to be done with young drivers and we need to radically rethink how we prepare them for driving. It is not just about the driving test, a much more holistic approach is needed.”

This approach is supported by the Autoglass research, where almost nine out of ten (86 per cent) of all drivers surveyed believed that young drivers should receive more practical experience of rural roads when learning to drive. And despite two thirds (60 per cent) of all drivers questioned admitting to going faster than the speed limit when travelling on country lanes, almost half (45 per cent) would welcome a reduction in the national speed limit for rural roads.

Nigel Doggett continues: “It’s an interesting anomaly that 60 per cent of the drivers we surveyed admit to speeding, yet half believe that the limit should be reduced. Clearly, driver habits on rural roads need to be addressed and we will be sending the findings of our research to the Department for Transport as part of their consultation. A copy will also be sent to the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and we urge them to consider rural roads as part of their own ‘Safe Driving for Life’ initiative. Hopefully, this will help in making rural roads a safer place for everyone.”