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

  • March 29, 2018
    Eastern Europe has the most noxious drivers in the continent
    The Czech Republic has the highest levels of toxic emissions caused by drivers, in a study of 25 European countries conducted by The Eco Experts. It found that Poland, Estonia, Croatia and Slovakia ranked in the top five counties for noxious drivers, making Eastern Europe the most toxic region in the continent. Czech drivers ranked the highest for using old and poor quality cars that are just over 14 years old. Results also showed that the number of cars powered by sustainable fuel alternatives is at 0.7
  • November 12, 2015
    Driver aids make inroads on improving safety
    In-vehicle anti-collision systems continue to evolve and could eliminate some incidents altogether. John Kendall rounds up the current developments. A few weeks ago, I watched a driver reverse a car from a parking bay at right angles to the road, straight into a car driving along the road. The accident happened at walking pace, no-one was hurt and both cars had body panels that regain their shape after a low speed shunt.
  • January 24, 2012
    In-vehicle automation of safety compliance and other traffic violations
    David Crawford explores new initiatives in enforcement. Achieving the EU’s new road safety target of reducing road traffic deaths by 50 per cent by 2020 depends on removing legal and institutional barriers to the deployment of new enforcement technologies, stresses Jan Malenstein. The senior ITS Adviser to Dutch National Police Agency the KLPD, and a European-level spokesperson on road and traffic safety, points to the importance of, among other requirements, an effective EUwide type approval process for fr
  • January 12, 2022
    UK ‘pauses’ smart motorway roll-out
    All-lane running motorway schemes to be halted until five years' safety data is available