Young drivers to face curbs

RoSPA have said that more than 430 people are killed in crashes involving young car drivers aged 17 to 24 years, every year, including over 150 young drivers, 90 passengers and more than 180 other road users. The most common causes of road accidents include;

• Speeding
• Drink Driving
• Seat Belt Wearing
• Careless Driving
• At-work
• Inexperience
• Failed to Look Properly
• Loss of Control

• Thirsk and Malton (North Yorkshire) 287
• Richmond, Yorkshire (North Yorkshire) 267
• Jointly with Skipton and Ripon (North Yorkshire) and Daventry (Northamptonshire) 217
• Birmingham Ladywood 203

• Eddisbury (Cheshire) 197
• Jointly with Arundel and South Downs (West Sussex), and Banff and Buchan (Aberdeenshire) 192
• Sherwood (Nottinghamshire) 180
• Ribble Valley (Lancashire) 177

• As many 5,419 people were killed or seriously injured in accidents involving at least one young car driver last year.
• In 2011, 2,776 young people were killed or seriously injured on UK roads . Rural areas top the list of places that accidents are most likely to happen.

• The single biggest cause of accidental death of young people aged 15-24 is road accident.
• 40% of 17 year old males have an accident in their first six months of driving.

• One in eight drivers is under 25, but they account for a third of people who die on UK roads.
• 18-year-old driver is three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a 48 year-old driver.

The ABI survey, to coincide with the start of Road Safety Week, was conducted by YouGov, with 3,742 people polled.

The survey found:

• 76% agreed that there should be restrictions on young drivers after passing their driving test.
• 71% supported restricting the number of young passengers that newly qualified young drivers were allowed to carry.

• 57% agreed with a minimum 12-month learning period before taking the driving test to enable young drivers to gain more supervised practice.
• 60% supported changes to the driving test and the way in which it was conducted.

• 58% supported a restriction on night-time driving (11pm-4am) for newly qualified young drivers.

A young drivers' safety charity has reacted angrily to insurers' attempts to ban teenagers from carrying passengers, reports the The Gloucester Citizen.

More than three in four people believe there should be restrictions on young drivers after they pass their test.

Most of those keen on some curbs reckon learners should have a minimum 12 months of lessons, a survey by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) found.

There was also strong support for late-night driving bans on newly-qualified motorists, changes to the driving test and restrictions on the number of young passengers a novice driver could carry.

Young drivers may face a ban on carrying passengers who are not members of their family as the Government seeks to cut the number of deaths on the road involving teenagers.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has said he would consider measures put forward by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) which could cut the number of accidents involving young motorists.

Other measures which the Government could look at include a curfew on night driving and zero tolerance on alcohol.

There has been a call to stop young drivers giving lifts to their friends.

The government has been considering an idea to ban young drivers from carrying passengers other than members of their own family.

The plan has been put forward by the Association of British Insurers as a way of cutting the number of young people killed in car crashes.

Drivers under 25 are involved in a third of all deaths on British roads.

Report from ITV News' Sejal Karia.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists has called on the Government to adopt a "more positive approach that encourages new drivers to gain experience rather than denying them the opportunity to do so".

A spokesman said: "The first thing the Government must do is revise the driving test to include rural roads where most young drivers die or are injured."