ABI launches campaign against rise in teenage death on the roads

Government figures issued recently showed a 12% rise in the number of 16-19 year-old drivers and passengers killed on Britain's roads last year. Over the same period, the total number of deaths on Britain’s roads fell by 8%.

The ABI is launching a campaign today to highlight these facts and to raise the issue of young drivers up the road safety agenda.

Stephen Haddrill, Director General of the ABI, said: "Reducing accidents involving young drivers should be the number one road safety priority for Britain. Research carried out by the insurance industry shows that teenage drivers are 10 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured while driving than motorists in their 40s. And, while road deaths and serious accidents are falling on average for the majority, they are going up for young people – by a shocking 12% last year. We need a massive effort from everyone to end this tragedy."

In a research paper published today on "Young Drivers: Road Safety and the Cost of Motoring", the ABI uncovers the reasons for the high accident rates and role of insurance in paying for the costs of teenage driving, and also encouraging all motorists to drive more safely. The ABI sets out 10 ways in which young drivers could be safer and also reduce their motoring costs.

But the ABI believes that further action is needed. Stephen Haddrill said: "The Government should now make young drivers their top priority in their campaigning and advertising about road safety. Other countries have imposed greater restrictions on teenage drivers and we may have to adopt these if we don’t make quick progress. But it would be much better if we could reduce the dangers through education and information.

"Effective action now will save life and enable us to get the costs of driving and insurance down for young people."

For the first time, the ABI has collected all the facts about young drivers and insurance. Young drivers, particularly young men, make many more claims, and the cost of each claim is higher.

The ABI's research reveals that:

In 2003, 17-18 year old men were more than twice as likely to make an insurance claim as 30-59 year old men

The average cost of a motor claim in 2003 was much higher for young drivers. And it was much higher for men than women

A higher proportion of accidents involving young drivers take place at night or the weekend. Young drivers are much more likely to have an accident as a result of speeding, particularly on a bend, driving competitively with other cars, drink/driving or allowing passengers to distract them. They are also much more likely to be carrying passengers when they have an accident.