Young motorists have confessed that they often speed at ‘shocking’ levels even when they are driving with their friends according to the new results of a survey by Brake the road safety charity.
Over half of the teens questioned had been a passenger in a car that was driven by a fellow youth at speeds over 40mph in a 30 zone or on rural roads at speeds over 70mph.
One in five of the 2,800 teens aged 14-25 questioned as part of the survey said they had raced along a public road as either a passenger or a driver. One out of ten stated that they had overtaken a vehicle with speed even without a clear image of what was ahead.
Brake campaigns officer, Ellen Booth, stated that young people get a thrill out of speeding in the car with their friends due to the way their brains develop, but at a young age are not yet able to control their tendencies to thrill seek.
Booth continued to say they often feel they are invincible and over-estimate their ability to get out of a problematic situation.
Over half of young passengers, 58%, stated that when speeding with a young driver they do not tell the driver to slow down.
Brake is concerned given that road crashes are the largest killer of teens in the age group of 15-24 and that young drivers most often are involved fatal crashes versus any other age group.
