Keeping Young Drivers Safe During Early Licensure

This study, carried out for the RAC Foundation by Dr Bruce Simons-Morton, a distinguished academic from the USA, concludes that young drivers are likely to moderate their behaviour behind the wheel if they believe their actions will get back to their parents.The report says it is often young drivers’ parents who effectively control the car keys because they have paid for the vehicle and foot the bill for running costs such as insurance.

It adds that evidence shows that while new young drivers can drive relatively safely when they are accompanied by their parents or other adults, they undertake more risky behaviour when that adult figure is absent.

The report suggests the combined use of dash cams and ‘accelerometers’ – technology that records the high G-forces created when a car is driven erratically or dangerously – can be particularly effective in positively influencing young driver behaviour.