Skip to main content

Young drivers admit they are unsafe

Nearly half of new young drivers in the UK admit they are unsafe on the road and think that they are not being taught enough about road safety, with two thirds of parents agreeing, according to a new report. The poll of 1,000 young motorists and their parents found that 50 per cent of drivers under 24 would not know where to start with basics like checking their tyres. Less than half of young road users know what the legal tyre tread limit is and one in five have no idea what solution, such as a spare ty
September 30, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Nearly half of new young drivers in the UK admit they are unsafe on the road and think that they are not being taught enough about road safety, with two thirds of parents agreeing, according to a new report.

The poll of 1,000 young motorists and their parents found that 50 per cent of drivers under 24 would not know where to start with basics like checking their tyres. Less than half of young road users know what the legal tyre tread limit is and one in five have no idea what solution, such as a spare tyre, they have available in an event of a puncture.

Mark Griffiths of Continental Tyres, which carried out the research, said: “Every day in the UK, around nine people die or are seriously injured from a road accident that involves a young car driver. It is vital for 17 to 24 year olds to receive adequate road safety information as they learn to drive, setting them up for a lifetime of safe motoring.”

Related Content

  • December 6, 2012
    Debating the future of in-vehicle systems
    Industry experts talk to Jason Barnes about the legislative situation of current and future in-vehicle systems. Articles about technology development can have a tendency to reference Moore’s Law with almost indecent regularity and haste but the fact remains that despite predictions of slow-down or plateauing, the pace remains unrelenting. That juxtaposes with a common tendency within the ITS industry: to concentrate on the technology and assume that much else – legislation, business cases and so on – will m
  • February 28, 2022
    Putting the brakes on smart motorways
    The UK government has announced that development of its all-lane running highways is going to be put on hold for another few years to assess safety data. Adam Hill finds out why
  • March 7, 2018
    Europe’s road safety record suffers as austerity bites hard, traffic police chiefs are told at TISPOL 2017
    Europe’s leading traffic police chiefs are struggling with the challenge of how best to manage the region’s road network in an era of austerity. Things are changing fast, and not for the better, reports Geoff Hadwick. Europe’s road safety record is under threat. Police budgets are being slashed, staff numbers are falling and a long-term trend towards ever-fewer road deaths has ground to a halt. The line on the graph has flat-lined. Does Europe’s road network face a far more dangerous future? Lower and
  • March 7, 2018
    Europe’s road safety record suffers as austerity bites hard, say traffic police chiefs
    Europe’s leading traffic police chiefs are struggling with the challenge of how best to manage the region’s road network in an era of austerity. Things are changing fast, and not for the better, reports Geoff Hadwick. Europe’s road safety record is under threat. Police budgets are being slashed, staff numbers are falling and a long-term trend towards ever-fewer road deaths has ground to a halt. The line on the graph has flat-lined. Does Europe’s road network face a far more dangerous future? Lower and