The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called for extensive changes to be made to the licensing conditions of new drivers.
The views are shared by Government ministers, and last year the government published a green paper discussing a host of measures including changing the minimum age for taking the driving test to 18, with mandatory probationary licences for a further year.
The measures would also see new young drivers faced with a curfew between 10pm and 5am, unless accompanied by a passenger over the age of 30.
Accurate data?
The ABI published statistics which purported to show that young drivers are involved in more accidents at night, and are responsible for a greater proportion of night time accidents than daytime accidents.
Some observers, however, have disputed the ABI’s data and suggested that it is a distortion of the true picture. Insurance telematics provider, insurethebox, for example, has provided its own data, which may provide a clearer picture.
This shows that young people do most of their driving at night, far more so than older drivers, so it is not a surprise that they have more accidents.
The company also pointed out that their data showed that all drivers were more likely to crash at night, regardless of their age.
An unworkable solution?
Some telematics companies already place a curfew on young drivers as a condition of their insurance cover. This has already had tragic consequences where one young driver lost his life while rushing home to beat the curfew.
Such a curfew could clearly encourage speeding and it may also force young people to give a lift to an over-30 passenger they do not know or trust.
The flaws in such a plan are clear and it seems completely unfair to punish an entire section of society for the actions of a few.
