Insurance firms: stricter rules for learner drivers

By Lucy Bower

The insurance industry wants the government to introduce new safety measures to bring down the number of road accidents. One suggestion is making learners spend a year learning to drive, reports the BBC.

Evidence from the Association of British Insurers says that:

• 17-24-year-olds are the age group responsible for the highest number of crashes and deaths on the road, as well as insurance claims.
• 18-year-olds are over three times more likely to be involved in a crash than 48-year-olds.
• A third of drivers killed in car accidents are under the age of 25, even though only one in eight drivers are under 25.

The ABI wants inexperienced drivers to be restricted on night driving and a zero alcohol limit to be introduced. It also says passing an intensive driving course is not enough.

Another suggestion is that driving licences should be "graduated" for the first six months after passing a test - basically putting new drivers on a kind of probation. During those first six months, the ABI says drivers should only be able to carry a limited number of young passengers and shouldn't be allowed on the road between 23.00 and 04.00 unless commuting to and from work, or college. And new drivers shouldn't be allowed to have any alcohol at all in their blood.

However, the industry body does think that young people should be allowed to start learning to drive at 16 and a half years old, which is six months younger than now.

Road safety minister Stephen Hammond has said the government is considering the ideas.

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Tags: learners, driving, BBC, car accidents

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