Should Young Drivers Face Night-Time Driving Curfews?
With a new government Green Paper looking into ways to improve road safety among young drivers and reduce the number of road traffic accident claims, some organisations have called for a night time curfew for inexperienced road users.
The Association of British Insurers, for instance, has said that if learning periods had to be a minimum of one year, and if young drivers faced restrictions on the number of young passengers they could carry, a zero-blood alcohol limit and night-time driving restrictions (with some exemptions), young people's insurance premiums could be reduced by between 15% and 20%.
However, while personal injury solicitors agree that making the roads safe for other road users is an important goal, curfews are a controversial approach, and better training standards, improved education and a higher number of road safety messages could be a more effective approach.
The statistics are startling, however, with young people significantly more likely to be involved in road traffic accident claims than other road users.
One-fifth of all deaths and serious injuries on the UK's roads during 2011 were in collisions involving at least one driver who was aged between 17 and 24.
This is reflected in insurance premiums for young people, which are significantly higher than premiums for other drivers and can be prohibitively expensive.
Are Night-Time Driving Curfews The Right Way To Prevent Road Traffic Accident Claims? The most significant problem no win no fee solicitors can see with night-time curfews for young people is that they will likely be flouted by the most dangerous drivers anyway.
Someone who is willing to get behind the wheel while drunk has already shown that they will not be dissuaded from driving by the law and are reckless towards the risk of motor vehicle accidents, so may be likely to ignore the curfew.
Furthermore, the proposals could be described as unfair to the young.
Young people could easily find themselves in a situation where they need to drive at night, such as work, or in an emergency.
Even though some inexperienced young drivers are involved in road traffic accident claims, personal injury solicitors know that the overwhelming majority of young motorists take their responsibilities seriously, are mortified when they commit driving offences, and are delighted with the liberation and freedom that a car provides.
Taking their right to drive at night away from them based on the actions of a few seems disproportionate.
Some of the other proposals made to cut insurance premiums for young drivers and improve road safety include increasing the probationary period to three years, improving the rigour of driving tests, and incentivising people to go on further training, such as through Pass Plus, when they pass their driving test.
Some insurers have introduced telematics insurance - The Cooperative Insurance says young drivers with this policy are in 20% fewer crashes than those without it.
However, this involves installing a smart box in the driver's car, which monitors their driving ability, and many people are uncomfortable with this technology and feel it is intrusive.
Nonetheless, if telematics insurance really cuts road traffic accident claims involving young drivers by one-fifth, it might be an area worthy of further analysis.
The Association of British Insurers, for instance, has said that if learning periods had to be a minimum of one year, and if young drivers faced restrictions on the number of young passengers they could carry, a zero-blood alcohol limit and night-time driving restrictions (with some exemptions), young people's insurance premiums could be reduced by between 15% and 20%.
However, while personal injury solicitors agree that making the roads safe for other road users is an important goal, curfews are a controversial approach, and better training standards, improved education and a higher number of road safety messages could be a more effective approach.
The statistics are startling, however, with young people significantly more likely to be involved in road traffic accident claims than other road users.
One-fifth of all deaths and serious injuries on the UK's roads during 2011 were in collisions involving at least one driver who was aged between 17 and 24.
This is reflected in insurance premiums for young people, which are significantly higher than premiums for other drivers and can be prohibitively expensive.
Are Night-Time Driving Curfews The Right Way To Prevent Road Traffic Accident Claims? The most significant problem no win no fee solicitors can see with night-time curfews for young people is that they will likely be flouted by the most dangerous drivers anyway.
Someone who is willing to get behind the wheel while drunk has already shown that they will not be dissuaded from driving by the law and are reckless towards the risk of motor vehicle accidents, so may be likely to ignore the curfew.
Furthermore, the proposals could be described as unfair to the young.
Young people could easily find themselves in a situation where they need to drive at night, such as work, or in an emergency.
Even though some inexperienced young drivers are involved in road traffic accident claims, personal injury solicitors know that the overwhelming majority of young motorists take their responsibilities seriously, are mortified when they commit driving offences, and are delighted with the liberation and freedom that a car provides.
Taking their right to drive at night away from them based on the actions of a few seems disproportionate.
Some of the other proposals made to cut insurance premiums for young drivers and improve road safety include increasing the probationary period to three years, improving the rigour of driving tests, and incentivising people to go on further training, such as through Pass Plus, when they pass their driving test.
Some insurers have introduced telematics insurance - The Cooperative Insurance says young drivers with this policy are in 20% fewer crashes than those without it.
However, this involves installing a smart box in the driver's car, which monitors their driving ability, and many people are uncomfortable with this technology and feel it is intrusive.
Nonetheless, if telematics insurance really cuts road traffic accident claims involving young drivers by one-fifth, it might be an area worthy of further analysis.
