The price of car insurance is a hot topic in the press at the minute, particularly for the 17 – 25 age group, with research by The AA showing that car insurance premiums for men in the 17 to 22 age group had risen by 46% in period from October 2009 to October 2010 to an average price of more than £2,400.
Although the reasons for this increase are many, the single biggest rating factor is reported to be the high frequency of Road Traffic Accident involving young drivers. We have researched some of the statistics being offered.
According to the PSNI during the period 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2011 there were a total of 120 fatalities on our roads, 38% of these were young men aged between 16 & 24 years old.
Young men in this age group are six times more likely to die in a road traffic accident than young female drivers, and five time more likely to die in a road traffic accident than male drivers aged between 30 & 59.
According to the road safety charity BRAKE, “One in eight licence holders is aged under 25, but one in three drivers who die on UK roads are in this age group”
“Road traffic accidents are the single biggest killer of 15 – 24 year olds in the UK”
Why are young people more likely to be involved in a fatal accident?
Lack of experience: as new driver gain experience their accident rate falls.
Attitude: young drivers (particularly men) tend to be overconfident and are more likely to drive in a dangerous manner.
Hazard Perception: young drivers tend to be poor at identifying potential hazards and assessing risk. It can take new drivers up to 2 seconds longer to react to hazardous situations than more experienced drivers
Peer pressure: the likelihood of a serious accident increases with the number of other young people in the car.
Gender: inexperienced male drivers have a much higher accident rate, and are also more likely to commit driving offences.