Skip to main content

Young Driver scheme improving road safety

The Co-operative Insurance company in the UK says that new data shows that the introduction of telematics technology is leading to better driving behaviour from Britain's young road users. Intelligence gathered from the company’s 'smartbox' scheme shows that 35% are consistently showing 'excellent' driving while less than 5% demonstrate 'poor' driving habits. The Young Driver scheme, launched just over a year ago, measures driving behaviours including speed, braking and cornering. It then scores these from
June 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Data from the Young Driver 'smartbox' shows that 82% of 17 to 25 year-olds achieved the top score for sticking to speed limits, although only 13% scored top marks for braking and accelerating.
The 6010 Co-operative Insurance company in the UK says that new data shows that the introduction of 1681 Telematics Technology is leading to better driving behaviour from Britain's young road users. Intelligence gathered from the company’s 'smartbox' scheme shows that 35% are consistently showing 'excellent' driving while less than 5% demonstrate 'poor' driving habits.

The Young Driver scheme, launched just over a year ago, measures driving behaviours including speed, braking and cornering. It then scores these from one (poor) to five (excellent) and rewards discounts on insurance premiums to those who score consistently well.

David Neave, director of general insurance for The Co-operative, said: “The data shows that the vast majority of our customers are responding well to a ‘carrot’ rather than ‘stick’ approach, improving their driving skills because they are rewarded for doing so. Our scheme is only in its infancy, but it is clear that if telematics was taken up on a larger scale it could be a major step forward in improving road safety.”

Related Content

  • October 28, 2015
    New analysis finds speed cameras may create bad driving behaviour
    Using more than one billion miles of driving behaviour data, collected over three years (2011-2014) and including 8,809 separate journeys in 5,353 vehicles, Wunelli, a LexisNexis company, has revealed the most frequent braking black spots across the UK created by speed cameras, based on motorists braking excessively just before speed cameras to avoid being caught. Eighty per cent of all the UK speed cameras investigated had hard braking activity, with braking increasing six fold on average at these loca
  • November 27, 2013
    Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: a solution or another problem?
    Do Advanced Driver Assistance Systems represent a positive step forward for safety, or something of a safety risk? Jason Barnes discusses the issue with leading industry figures. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are already common. Anti-lock brakes or electronic stability control are well understood and are either fitted as standard or frequently requested by new vehicle buyers. More advanced ADAS features are appearing on many top-end vehicles and the trickle-down has already started. Adaptive
  • February 3, 2012
    Need for best practice enforcement standards
    Leading systems suppliers discuss how recent events in Italy have affected the automated enforcement sector and how the situation might be remediated
  • October 3, 2018
    Carrots are proving cost-effective in Netherlands
    There are lessons to be learned from congestion avoidance schemes in the Netherlands. David Crawford welcomes some new thinking in road pricing. Highway operators worldwide are being urged to learn from Dutch experience in using financial carrots rather than sticks to encourage drivers to avoid contributing to congestion. A Netherlands/UK group makes a convincing cost/benefit case in a new global survey of road pricing technologies, economics and acceptability. Representing the Rijkswaterstaat section of