Yes, it’s an exciting time for them, but an extremely anxious one for their nearest and dearest.
We’re all too aware that young and novice drivers are far more likely to be involved in a road traffic collision than more experienced drivers.
Statistics show that young drivers (aged 17-24 years) account for 7% of the UK’s driving licence holders but are involved in 20% of fatal and serious collisions.
In 2017, road traffic collisions accounted for 15% of deaths of people aged 15 to 24 years.
Research shows that a combination of youth and inexperience can put younger drivers at higher risk. Their inexperience often means they have less ability to spot hazards and their youth means they could be more likely to take risks.
If your child or someone you know is learning to drive or is newly qualified, the AA offers some useful advice on how to help make their early years on the road safe and accident-free. They also make some interesting points:
- Most young drivers are safe. Only a significant minority (about a third) could be considered unsafe drivers.
- It’s not always about experience – deliberate bad driving aimed at impressing friends or gaining a thrill through risk taking is also a problem.
- Young drivers are particularly at risk in the early hours of the morning – per mile driven, a young male driver is five times more likely to have an accident than his father.
- The accident risk for young male drivers in the early evening is much lower, suggesting that the problem is how they drive at night rather than inexperience at driving in the dark.
Tips on what to do if you break down, can be found here:
Don’t forget, carrying a BriteAngle LED Warning Triangle in the boot of the car will not only help keep new drivers SEEN and SAFE if they break down or have to stop on the roadside, it will give loved ones peace of mind.