Government considering young driver restrictions to prevent road traffic accidents

Published: 22/11/2012

Young drivers could be banned from carrying any passengers which are not members of their family as the Government investigate ways to reduce the number of road traffic accidents and road deaths involving new drivers.

According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) a third of drivers killed in car accidents are under 25 despite this age group accounting for only one in eight of all car drivers. The ABI believes this disproportionately high numbers of crashes is, in large part, down to peer pressure.

The Government is now deliberating on issuing such a ban although it confirmed there are “no plans” for legislation. Patrick McLoughlin is the Transport Secretary:

“I read regular reports where three or four young people have been killed in a car, and it’s a new driver, and you wonder what happened.

“When I talk to young people who have recently passed their test, what they say sometimes is that peer pressure is put on them to go fast, to show off.

“They are not anticipating an accident, but something goes wrong. They are not drivers with a huge amount of experience by the very fact of their being new drivers. I think we have got to look at that.

“There is a suggestion as to whether you should look at a restriction whether anyone could carry passengers for six or nine months when they have first passed their test.

“There are suggestions about them only perhaps being allowed to take a family member to drive a car when you are learning, you have to have a qualified driver in the car. So these are all sorts of areas that I think we can look at.”

Content correct at time of publication