Why younger drivers have higher crash rates, and how we can reduce them

The level of education a driver has is one of the most important things that need to be considered when a new driver is coming onto the road. This will greatly impact the deaths caused per year because of driving as many of these deaths are caused due to lack of basic knowledge or because of underestimating the dangerousness of “small” mistakes on the road. This can include turning back to check on the kids in the backseat while driving or looking at your phone on your lap for a split second during an intense football game to possibly determine the scores. Making clear how severe the consequences of these split-second attention diverting moments is a very important part of driver’s education that isn’t touched upon enough.

Leading on to what would reduce a huge number of deaths on the roads, giving the right education to the right audience. Many younger and/or newer drivers have accidents related to speeding however for the older drivers, it tends to be distractions/tiredness so giving these respective audiences the right knowledge as to what causes the most accidents within their age group will significantly impact the number of deaths. This was the case recently in London, England where a new 18-year-old driver sadly passed away as a result of dangerously speeding when driving on the highway to show off to his friends as he recorded a video for his snapchat. After this incident happened, it became mandatory for 17-year-olds to attend a Drive Awareness workshop at school in order to learn more about the dangers of speeding and how to avoid cases like this from repeating themselves.

Another major concern for younger drivers is driving under the influence of intoxicants such as alcohol. This is because it is deemed “cool” within youths to take intoxicants, and many will choose to drive back home from the location under the influence rather than be responsible and take taxis. Many insurance companies have introduced technology that monitors speeding for newly insured drivers to reduce the urge of speeding with a monetary incentive as their insurance will be cheaper at the time of renewal, furthermore insurance policies with such technology tend to be significantly discounted compared to normal insurance policies once again introducing monetary incentive which is a major thing for younger drivers who may have a lack of funds.

With older drivers, the same workshops should be made mandatory but enforcing more of the fact that tiredness and fatigue can kill on the roads as one slip of an eye can cause you to miss something on the road. These workshops can be arranged by adults at their own leisure to allow for it to meet their respective schedule and is a strong reminder that tiredness can not only put your own life in danger, but also that of your family and other innocent people on the road.

I have seen close family members drive irresponsibly when they have been tired, this not only put our families lives in danger, but also those of other road users. This was something I learnt a lesson from as it shows the selfish nature people can have, knowing they are tired but out of the need to get somewhere by a certain time they are willing to put other people’s lives in danger. In no circumstance, no matter the severity is it acceptable to put other people’s lives in danger. Furthermore, this same scenario could have lead to a bad model for a new teenage driver who may have seen one of their parents do this and thought of it as nothing major. Teenagers will mimic what is around them as they are impressionable so bad modelling by parents is a massive reason behind why teenagers have bad habits as soon as they start to drive, this includes using their phones while driving and driving when tired.

To improve the knowledge, I have and that of others too, the best approach would be to take online courses on any specific topic you are unsure about. Whether this includes speeding and the reason it is so dangerous, up to and including how to safely move off, although many of these things are taught when an individual first starts to drive. Furthermore, with new and improved tech cars are able to now autopilot and drive on their own, further inducing the urge to use phones during driving although drivers should concentrate at all times when being driven even by high tech vehicles that offer autopilot services.