Curbing young driver deaths

The issue of young driver deaths continues to be something of a hot potato, for politicians and insurers alike. Road crashes are the biggest killer of people aged between 15 and 25 in the country.

Last month, insurer CIS warned that a whole generation of drivers could become uninsurable unless action was taken to address the increasing number of young drivers and passengers either killed or injured on the UK's roads.

This increase has occurred in the context of overall driver and passenger deaths falling. As a result, premiums among the 15-25 age bracket have risen by over 20% in the past three years alone.

The government has identified the issue of young driver safety in its Road Safety Strategy Review, and indicated it would be overhauling the driving test.

MPs have been calling for the introduction of a graduated licensing scheme, which would include a minimum learning period of one year for all leaner drivers.

Having demanded "a radical reform of education and training" in January, Eric Martlew, a member of the transport select committee, said last week that "changes could be expected".

The Department for Transport said this week that there was no timetable in place for the introduction of legislation to reform the driving test.

All parties agree that much work remains to be done, but the question is, how?

The ABI has been lobbying the government for some time to step in. Last week, at a meeting of MPs and representatives from the insurance industry, it called for the introduction of restrictions on night time driving and passenger numbers.

It also suggested a graduated examination period, including a fixed limit on the number of hours a learner driver must spend behind the wheel.

But concerns have been raised over how to pay for such a change. "There is a risk that it will become unaffordable to drive," said Chris Grayling, Shadow Minister for Transport.

Mixed reaction
One answer could be to lower premiums – a concept met with decidedly mixed reaction from insurers. The ABI agrees that such a scheme has potential, but it has risks. In a market that is already running at a loss, reducing premiums poses a serious threat to solvency.

ABI director general Stephen Haddrill said: "We are keen to play our part, even though lowering premiums is unlikely at this point. For some insurers, however, it could prove a useful marketing tool."

Commenting on the idea for night time restrictions, Minister for Transport Stephen Ladyman said: "If insurance companies are concerned about people being out at night they can do it through their insurance policies."

Indeed, some insurers already have. In an attempt to address problems of affordability, Norwich Union launched its pay-as-you-drive scheme in October last year.

The information retrieved from a 'black box' installed in a policyholder's car allows the insurer to adjust the premium based on the number of hours spent driving at night.

According to Norwich Union, the system has achieved savings of up to a third, and reduced fatalities among young drivers by 20%.

The government is also unsurprisingly reluctant to make moves to reduce the number of passengers in cars being driven by young drivers.

The ABI has pointed to the successful implementation of a scheme in California which directly linked the number of passengers with the likelihood of an accident occurring.

On this issue, Haddrill said: "We believe the government is wrong to reject our proposals to limit passenger numbers."

There is also considerable disagreement over the extent to which the police will be able to enforce legislation that imposes restrictions on drivers.

While the ABI maintain that problems of enforcement can be dealt with, organisations like Roadsafe insist that restrictions on night time driving and passengers numbers will be perceived as unfair. IT