Statistics show that new drivers are more likely to have an accident in the first two years of passing their test than at any other time in their driving career. In the first year of driving, one driver in five is involved in an accident. This is mainly down to a lack of driving experience, and this is where Pass Plus comes in! young drivers initiative.

                     

Road deaths fell to fewer than 3,000 in 2007, an achievement that makes Britain’s roads among the safest in the world. But our success in driving down deaths and injuries is overshadowed by the fact that younger drivers are not getting safer. There is currently no higher road safety priority than preparing young people to drive safely on their own, and with passengers, after their test. Central to this is the need to help them acquire not only the right skills but the right attitudes for driving safely.

Three significant factors dictate how people drive, and their likelihood of being in a crash:

Age – drivers under 25 have an exceptionally high risk; the risk is greatest for drivers under 20, who are the most inexperienced

Experience – the risk of being in a crash peaks immediately after passing the driving test, and declines steadily over the following 12 months and beyond, as new drivers learn from their solo driving experiences.

Gender – younger male drivers are up to twice as likely to be in a crash as younger females.

There is no typical road crash, but there are conditions in which younger drivers have a greater proportion of crashes than older drivers, including:

• Older cars with less EuroNCAP crash protection.
• When there are three or more casualties in the car.
• Friday and Saturday nights.
• On rural class ‘C’ or unclassified roads.
• Single vehicle crashes involving no other road-user.
• Running off the road and hitting a roadside object.
• Skidding and possibly overturning.