A new survey, by road safety charity Brake and QBE Insurance found, suggests that 54% of the 8,110 people aged between 15 to 25 surveyed have been put at risk by young people speeding, while 24% had been in a car after the driver had taken drugs or alcohol.
The survey also found that 21% of young people do not always wear seatbelts when a passenger with a young driver.
82% were in favour of at least one type of licence restriction on young drivers, such as a zero-tolerance alcohol limit and tougher penalties.
On average, a young person is killed on UK roads every 18 hours, while a young person suffers a serious injury every 90 minutes, Brake said.
The charity also pointed out that drivers aged 17 to 24 made up only 12% of licence holders yet were involved in crashes resulting in 25% of deaths and serious injuries.
Brake campaigns director Julie Townsend said: “It is unacceptable that more young people die in preventable road crashes than from any other cause. Every day, more families face the unbearable news that a loved one has been killed suddenly and violently, or suffered a horrific injury, in young driver crashes.
“We are calling for urgent action to tackle this needless suffering and the huge costs to society.”
MJP Motoring Solicitors
Nov, 22, 2011
These are appoling statistics but we can not simply blame young driver for, because its the adults who make all driving rules and we need to incorporate young people into the system so that they can be equiped to keep our roads safe. eg government can set aside safety grants, for example if people can show safe driving techniques then they can be rewarded by free friving lessons.