Safe drivers are made, not born – 10 steps to young driver safety

Age, inexperience and gender impact most on the safety of young drivers, according to new IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) Motoring Trust research. Most at risk are the under 20s, who have the least driving experience; drivers under 25 have an exceptionally high risk of being killed or seriously injured (KSI) in crashes; and up to twice as many young men are involved in crashes as young female drivers.

Young drivers – where and when they are unsafe compares drivers between 17 and 70 inan analysis of almost a quarter of a million KSI crashes between 2000 and 2006. The study reveals where, when and why many young drivers die or are seriously injured on the roads compared with drivers over 25. The highest risks are:

In older cars with less EuroNCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) crash protection

When there are three or more casualties in the car

On Friday and Saturday nights

On rural class ‘C’ or unclassified roads

In single vehicle crashes involving no other road user

When running off the road and hitting something at the roadside

When skidding and possibly overturning

In fog, mist or rain, or on wet roads in “fine weather”

On bends, particularly on rural roads

“Novice drivers, particularly the under 20s, are most at risk in the early weeks and months after they pass their driving test. This study helps to explain why and points to what needs to be done,” said Neil Greig, Director of the IAM Motoring Trust. “Most young drivers, particularly young women, have the skills and the right attitude for driving safely. Post driving test restrictions that limit the number of passengers young drivers can carry or the imposition of night time curfews are not the answer. They would penalise the relatively safe majority but do little to curb the dangerous excesses of the reckless, mainly male, minority.”

The IAM proposes a 10-point package of actions for making younger drivers safer:

Encourage more understanding of driving in a wider range of road conditions where novice drivers are most at risk, including at night, in poor visibility and poor weather, and on rural roads.
Why? The study shows that these are the conditions and roads novice drivers are least able to handle safely. It’s not practical to drive in all these situations while learning, but the theoretical test could be slanted to give novice drivers a much greater awareness of the risks, and what to do to avoid them.

Prepare learner drivers better for driving solo or with passengers by making them more aware of where and when they are most likely to crash.
Why? The study points to situations where novice drivers face the biggest risks compared with older more experienced drivers. By making them aware of situations – where, when and why they are more likely to crash – they will be better equipped to deal with them. Our study can be the basis of this element of education for L drivers.

Integrate road safety education in core school curriculum subjects so that young people develop a self-taught awareness of the risks and responsibilities of using the roads as drivers, riders and as passengers.
Why? The youngest novice drivers (17-19) are the riskiest group. Many start learning to drive while still in school; getting them to understand the maths and physics of their safety would have an immediate and lasting impact. For example, skidding – teaching in physics about friction and the loss of friction when tyres are wet/bald etc; teaching in maths about deceleration and how wearing a seatbelt deals with the forces; teaching in biology the effect of alcohol and drugs on judgment and driving abilities.

Guide parents on how to help their children become safer drivers through additional, supervised driving practice in the family car.
Why? There is evidence from several countries (eg Sweden) that the more driving practice novice drivers have pre-test, the less likely they are to be in a crash. In Sweden, 50 hours is recommended but 120 hours reduces crashes by 40 per cent in the following two years. Parents should be encouraged and helped to give their children additional driving practice in the family car to supplement professional tuition. Giving their children this extra experience will help make them safer drivers.

Persuade insurance companies to recognise that additional driving practice with a parent before taking the test is low risk, and to set premiums accordingly.
Why? L drivers on the family car policy can be very heavily loaded. The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has also found this and in its report on Novice Drivers, it says, “We would encourage the insurance industry to re-examine the high insurance charges imposed on supervised learner drivers, in the interests of encouraging them to gain maximum practice, a factor which has been shown to be crucial in promoting novice driver safety”

Identify the minority of young and inexperienced (mostly male) drivers exhibiting dangerous driving behaviour through corrective education and training.
Why? Many years of research shows that most novice drivers have the skills to drive safely, but a significant minority chooses not to. Some are plain reckless; some are criminal in not taking a driving test, or insuring the car. The police can often find the plain reckless early in their driving career when they commit motoring offences. If they are licensed and insured, there needs to be a better system of requiring them to go on a rectification course, even if the offence is relatively minor.

Target police enforcement at the reckless, unlicensed and/or uninsured minority of young drivers, to find them and to get them off the road.
Why? Unlicensed drivers tend to be younger and male, and they drive up to 3.7 million hours a month. Uninsured drivers are typically young males living in urban areas: 60 per cent convicted of uninsured driving are under 25, and half are under 20. They have a high risk of crashing, and there is a perception among their peers that they can get away with it. Young people must be convinced that the only way to drive is to be licensed and insured. The majority of safe younger drivers should have their efforts to remain legal supported by knowing that the police and the courts are targeting the reckless minority of those who flout the law.

Place greater emphasis on training and improvement before the driving test, and after it, ensuring that this covers the full range of roads and conditions new drivers have to deal with.
Why? New young drivers are under-prepared for driving on rural roads in particular. Government and its agencies should be more pro-active in encouraging young people to continue developing their driving by undertaking further training. The insurance industry should incentivise those who are helping themselves, as well as loading the policies of those who prove themselves to be a risk.

Make roads themselves more forgiving of novice drivers’ mistakes by investing in features such as skid-resistant surfaces and crash barriers, and removing potentially lethal roadside objects.
Why? This study shows that novice drivers are more likely to skid, lose control of the vehicle, run off the road and hit something or lose control on a bend. In these circumstances, what dictates the injury is the EuroNCAP safety rating of the car, the speed of impact, and what the car hits. Safer drivers represent the most important element of road safety, alongside safer cars and safer roads.

Incentivise the take-up of technologies such Electronic Stability Control in the new cars of today that will be driven by young people in the years to come
Why? These new technologies can mitigate the effects of the mistakes all drivers make and help reduce casualties. But take-up is slow and relatively few of today’s smaller cars have them as standard. These are the cars that will be bought by the novice drivers of tomorrow. Incentivising the fitting of these safety features in new cars today will save the lives of novice drivers and their passengers five to ten years down the line.

Greig added, “More than 1100 18-year olds are killed or seriously injured on our roads every year and there is no higher road safety priority than preparing young people to drive safely, on their own and with passengers, after passing their test. And all novice drivers are at greatest risk in the weeks and months after passing the driving test. The IAM’s 10-point plan shows the way forward to make novice drivers, safer drivers.”