Can a ban on crash courses reduce car accidents amongst the young?
December 06, 2011
Posted by:Maria Mingoia
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called for a ban on intensive driving courses with the aim of reducing road traffic accidents and insurance premiums. As part of “tough love” proposals,the ABI have said that learner drivers under the age of 25 should be banned from taking intensive driving courses in order to cut young driver road accident and reduce their insurance costs.
According to the ABI one in four people killed or seriously injured in a road traffic accident is a young driver or one of their passengers, yet drivers under age 25 account for only 12 per cent of all driving licence holders. Young male drivers are especially at risk, being five times more likely to be involved in a crash than male drivers aged 30 to 59. Although recent statistics show a reduction in road traffic accident fatalities and serious injuries, the figure are still high. I am not sure banning these so called "crash courses" will reduce the amount of accidents among the young drivers.
The alternative could be to consider designing driving courses which ensure road safety is a key ingredient and possibly introducing road safety in schools at an early age. The AA says the proposals for banning crash courses might not work and is instead calling for driver education to start at school, forming part of the national curriculum. In January the AA will follow a number of insurance firms by offering telematic or black box technology to help reduce the cost of insuring young drivers as this technology measures driving performance, including speed, braking and control . Drivers who handle the road well can benefit from lower premiums. The new Smartbox will monitor how they drive and reward safe motoring with cheaper insurance premiums.