Driving becoming 'prohibitively expensive' for young people
Published On 18 April 2007
Young drivers are increasingly at risk of having an accident behind the wheel and this is causing their insurance premiums to drastically increase, several reports suggest.Recently, figures published by Co-operative Insurance (CIS) showed that two thirds (65 per cent) of people aged between 15 and 25 said that they had been in a car that had exceeded the national speed limit.
With government figures showing that 1,297 people died from this age group as a result of car crashes in 2005, experts are calling for action to help protect the nation's young adults while they drive.
David Neave, the director of general insurance at CIS, added that the increasing number of accidents that young people had behind the wheel was also having a detrimental affect on the cost of car insurance.
"As a responsible insurer we are committed to improving road safety. Unfortunately the consequences of irresponsible driving are too often seen," he explained. "The impact of serious road traffic crashes not only affects peoples' lives but also has a considerable affect on future premium levels."
Insurers recently warned that young drivers may effectively find themselves 'priced out' of driving as car insurance premium continue to increase.
According to CIS, insurance premiums have already increased by 22 per cent for young drivers in the past three years. For older drivers prices have only risen by two per cent.
"If this trend continues many young car owners will be unable to afford insurance and that will inevitably lead to a rise in the number of uninsured motorists on the roads and that would have major consequences for us all," Mr Neave warned.
To improve the situation and try to reduce accidents among young drivers, many organizations have called on the government to improve driving education.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) recently called on the government to take an active role to reduce the road accident figures among young people.
"Every death of a young driver is a tragedy. Too many young drivers are ill-equipped for the dangers of driving. We call on the government to introduce a new learning programme urgently and a one-year learning period," said the ABI's director general, Stephen Haddrill.
"It is also vital to restrict the number of passengers novice drivers can carry. A young driver is three times as likely to be killed if carrying three or more passengers."
"Now is the time for the government to take action and tackle the problem of risk-taking young drivers," said Jools Townsend, the head of education at Brake - a national motoring charity.
"More will die if positive steps are not taken immediately to educate young people and reform the learning to drive process.
