An Advertorial Post
It seems that one of the rites of passage into adulthood for many teenagers or young adults is the day the driving examiner turns to them and utters the words “Congratulations, you have passed!”
What then follows for most young drivers is the search for affordable first-time driver car insurance.
It is often remarked that for many young drivers, insurance premiums are very high, especially on more powerful cars. Often insurance companies are blamed for their excessively high-cost policies for this particular demographic of driver but there is a reason for this as these five facts about young drivers will illustrate:
1. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has revealed that over 3,000 car drivers aged 25 or under are killed or seriously injured on UK roads each year. Furthermore, RoSPA also found that young drivers are more likely to be involved in high-speed crashes, single vehicle crashes, incidents caused by a loss of control of the vehicle, crashes after dark and crashes while overtaking or negotiating bends in a vehicle.
2. RoSPA also reports that one in five drivers crash within their first year of driving and one in three male drivers between the ages of 17 and 20 will be involved in an accident in the first two years after they have passed their test. An 18-year-old driver is also three times more likely to be involved in an accident than a 48 year-old.
3. 40 per cent of young drivers feel it is acceptable to break a 30 mph speed limit by 10 mph or more, according to a survey conducted by Brake, the Association of British Insurers (ABI).This is, in spite of the fact that statistics have shown that at 40 mph, nine out of 10 children hit by cars either die or receive life changing injuries.
4. Almost a quarter of young drivers aged between 16 and 21 see nothing wrong with drinking up to one and a half pints of beer, or the equivalent in alcoholic units, and then getting behind the wheel of the car to drive afterwards. A 2007 report by Newsbeat revealed that a quarter of all drink driving arrests in London was of drivers aged between 17 and 24 and similar figures are being reported in many locations across the UK.
5. The survey by Brake and ABI also revealed that young drivers were prone to driving more recklessly and dangerously when carrying other young people as passengers. RoSPA reports that the attitude of young drivers, particularly men, is often over confident and they see good driving as being able to drive the car and control it at high speed.
In isolation, these five facts about young drivers go some way towards explaining why first-time driver insurance can be so high and highlights many of the problems that are facing young drivers on the roads today.
The good news for young drivers however is that they can take positive steps to ensure that their first driving experiences are good ones and do not result in an accident or worse.
Young drivers can use ‘P’ plates to indicate that they are a new driver, which will alert other drivers to their lack of experience. It is also a good idea to ensure they do not bite off more than they can chew initially by gaining as much experience as possible driving alone, or with just one trusted friend or relative who is an experienced driver and can give further advice. Many driving instructors offer additional lessons when you have passed, on motorway driving for example, and these are a good way to learn additional skills.
Passing your test should not be seen as a licence to drive recklessly because you can, but a sign that you have only reached the minimum standard required to be allowed onto British roads safely and that it is now up to you to improve your skills until you become a truly proficient and competent driver.
