Young Drivers - where and when they are unsafe

24 September 2008

Young drivers – where and when they are unsafe is a valuable report recently published by The IAM Motoring trust. It compares drivers between 17 and 70 in an analysis of almost a quarter of a million KSI crashes between 2000 and 2006. The study reveals where, when and why young drivers die or are seriously injured on the roads compared with drivers over 25.

It reveals that 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

RoadSafe fully supports the IAM’s proposal for a 10-point package of actions for making younger drivers safer.

Copies of the report and further information is available here.