Addressing Young and Novice Driver Safety in Great Britain (report)

The report, written for the RAC Foundation by associate professor Teresa Senserrick from the University of New South Wales and Neale Kinnear from TRL, looks at why young drivers are significantly and consistently overrepresented in crashes – despite a variety of pre and post-test initiatives.

The authors suggest it is time to stop thinking about ‘problem’ young drivers and adopt a broader, more comprehensive approach to improving young driver safety, which goes beyond ‘simply blaming individuals’.

The report finds that while new drivers of all ages are at increased risk of a crash when first starting to drive independently, young drivers are also affected by age-related influences linked to the stage of their development.

These include the ‘well-recognised’ heightening of sensation-seeking and peer influences, but also the less well-known vulnerability to distractions and fatigue.

The report argues that there must be an evidence-based approach to managing known risk factors – like driving at night and with peer-passengers – and advocates looking again at the successes achieved by different forms of graduated licensing introduced around the world.

The report puts forward practical examples such as encouraging young people to use public transport at night, and greater parental support during the early years of license-holding, as ways to reduce young driver crash rates.