Experienced drivers know the least

Motorists at opposite ends of the driving experience spectrum need to brush up on the rules of the road according to the results of a Highway Code test by online insurance experts, elephant.co.uk.

elephant.co.uk tested over 3,000 people on their knowledge of the tougher roads sign and other regulations and it was motorists over 60s and those aged 17 to 21 that failed to make the grade.

1st place - 40 to 49 year olds
2nd place - 50 to 59 year olds
3rd place - 30 to 39 year olds
4th place - 22 to 29 year olds
5th place - 17 to 21 year olds
6th place - 60+ year olds

For the 17 to 21 year olds, it was the men that dragged the overall score down as female drivers in the age group bucked the trend. For the men, 17 to 21 year olds were worst overall, but young female drivers in the same age group took a commendable second place in the women's ranks. Overall, men who took the test scored better than women.

elephant.co.uk managing director, Brian Martin said, "It's interesting to see the two extreme age groups performing the worst in our test. Perhaps the over 60s have forgotten what they were taught and maybe the younger drivers simply weren't paying enough attention when they were learning.

"It's interesting that those in their 40s and 50s wouldn't have sat the theory test which was introduced in 1996 but came top in our test. It seems to have done little to teach drivers the Highway Code."

Although the over 60s and 17 to 21 year olds scored the lowest, the study also revealed that more than half of everyone tested completely failed to identify the sign for a T-junction with priority over vehicles from the right, and two-fifths failed to identify the correct sequence for traffic lights at a junction.