ABI: young drivers should be made to learn for a year
The Association of British Insurers wants to see young drivers forced to learn to drive for a year before being allowed to take their driving test.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called for a number of radical changes to the laws governing young drivers.
The insurance trade body has highlighted that an 18-year-old driver is three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a driver 30 years older, while one in three deaths on the road involve someone under the age of 25.
In an attempt to improve road safety for everyone, the ABI has called for the following changes to be made:
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Young drivers to undergo a minimum 12-month learning period before taking their driving test to ensure more supervised practice
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Intensive training courses as the sole means of learning to drive should be banned
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A lowering of the age at which drivers can start learning to drive to 16 and a half
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Graduated driver licensing. This would restrict the number of passengers new drivers can carry for the first six months after passing, restrictions on driving between 11pm and 4am (with exemptions for journeys to work or college) and a zero limit for blood-alcohol levels.
What do you think of these proposals? Vote in our poll below and share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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Comments
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I certainly agree that this is a serious problem, but in my opinion only the last point would bring tangible benefit. I personally think that it is important also to concentrate on theory and hazard perception, rather than just practical experience. Since I have been studying and working during my spare time, I took many tests online to pass my theory test. And I think this way of learning is definitely better. By the way, this site helped me a lothttp://www.passdsa.co.uk/ .
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To keep my eldest son company I took motorbike training when I was 50 and subsequently took and passed my motorbike test. I had taken a defensive driving course in my twenties, but I found the motorbike training very enlightening, and it increased my awareness of other road users. It struck me how beneficial it would be for all drivers, particularly new drivers, to undergo some of the motorcycle training even if only on a simulator. Its amazing how more careful you are when you don't have a protective shell around you.
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The best thing to do is force them to ride a bicycle for a couple of years. That will teach them what it like to feel vulnerable on the road and thus to respect other road users. Personally, I found that reading Cyclecraft, a book about how to ride a bicycle on Britain's roads, made me a much better driver too.
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22 April 2013