Graduated Driver Licensing – a regional analysis of potential casualty savings in Great Britain

This report plots the “human cost of crashes” involving young drivers across 49 different areas of Britain.

The study, carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) on behalf of the RAC Foundation, shows that nearly one in eight (11.9%) of all road casualties are hurt or killed in collisions involving a car driver aged 17-19 years. This is despite 17-19 year-olds making up only 1.5% of licensed drivers.

The proportion of casualties is highest in Dyfed Powys at almost one in five (18.2%), followed by Gwent (17%), Cumbria and North Wales (15.8%), Northern and Grampian (15.7%) and Cornwall (15.5%). At 5.6%, London had the smallest proportion.

The report also makes “a conservative estimate” of the likely reduction in casualties if a system of graduated driving licensing (GDL) was introduced.

Based on the experience of other countries where GDL is in operation, the report concludes that across Britain about 4,500 fewer people would be hurt in an average year. This includes about 430 people who would otherwise have been killed or seriously injured.