Experts call for graduated driver licensing system
A stronger graduated driver licensing system could reduce casualties involving young drivers by around 30%.
That was the view of Dr Shaun Helman, chief scientist of behaviour at TRL, who was speaking during the latest episode of The Road Ahead with The AA.
The episode looked at why young and inexperienced drivers face a disproportionate risk – young drivers represent just six per cent of licence holders but account for 19% of car driver fatalities, while around 1,500 young drivers are killed or seriously injured each year – and asked whether changes to the way people learn to drive and the rules they face after passing their test could save lives.
Helman was joined by Lorna Lee, AA Charitable Trust trustee, and Jack Cousens, The AA’s head of roads policy.
She said: “Our estimate of effectiveness of [a graduated driver’s licence] was something in the region of maybe 30% reduction. I would say that would be expected on the basis of the evidence we’ve seen from around the world. This is not just ‘let’s see if this works’. It has worked pretty much everywhere it’s been tried.”
Lee added: “You can be a really responsible 17, 18, 19-year-old. You can not make any irresponsible decisions on that drive. You can be driving within the speed limit. And your inexperience can still result in tragedy because you haven’t got enough experience on wet roads, on headlight glare. It doesn’t come down to how responsible as an individual you are.”
