The Association of British Insurers (ABI) released a report yesterday entitled “A safer start for young drivers” in which it calls for an overhaul in how young people learn to drive.
The main proposals put forward are as follows:
- Learners to be prevented from relying on an intensive driving course to pass their test
- The introduction of a new “graduated” licence for the first six months after passing a test. During this period young drivers would be banned from:
- Carrying more then a certain number of passengers –
- Driving between 11pm and 4am, unless driving to and from work/college
- Having any amount of blood alcohol detected – a zero tolerance approach to drink driving
- The age at which young drivers can start learning to drive would be lowered from 17 to 16 and a half.
The proposals seek to reduce crashes by banning young drivers from statistically dangerous situations.
Similar schemes have been adopted in the US, Canada and New Zealand, with reported success. Powerful statistics backed up some claims, including the fact that fatality risk quadrouples when you have three passengers compared to driving on your own.
What do you think of this approach? It’s a nice thought that young drivers could manage their own driving given the proper education, though will it in fact take a stronger approach from the government to change habits? Let us know what you think!