Brake has revealed that 92 percent of motorists want Britain to adopt a graduated licensing system
Nine out of ten drivers back the UK implementing restrictions for newly qualified drivers, a survey has shown.
The research, conducted by leading road safety charity Brake, comes after the latest road accident statistics indicate that young drivers are involved in a disproportionate amount of fatal crashes.
According to Brake, 2,088 young drivers and passengers aged between 17 and 24 were killed in one year. Almost a quarter of drivers aged between 18 and 24 crash in the two years after passing their test and one in five new drivers crash within their first six months on the road.
The results of Brake’s survey show that 79 percent of participants believe there should be a minimum time frame for learning to drive, while 50 percent of participants felt there should be a restriction on engine sizes for new drivers.
More than a third of people surveyed thought motorists who broke the law within their first year on the roads should lose their licence while two thirds of survey participants suggested that new drivers should be legally required to display ‘P’ plated on their vehicles.
According to Brake, graduated driver licensing (GDL), which is already in place in many countries, could prevent more than 4,400 casualties and £224 million pounds in damages.
Drivers aged between 17 and 19 make up 1.5 percent of licence holders in Britain however are involved in 9 percent of fatal crashes.
David Robinson, a serious injury solicitor at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Passing a driving test should be evidence that a motorist is fully competent in their driving ability and crucially safe on the roads, yet the number of new drivers involved in road traffic collisions questions the effectiveness of the current driver training and licensing system.
“The latest research from Brake suggests that British motorists back a revised licensing system that would mean extending the time new drivers spend learning to drive and other measures. There appears to be widespread public support for changes to be made and the government cannot ignore that strength of feeling, or the human tragedy and cost to society, of the disproportionately high number of road traffic collisions involving young drivers.
“Any system that may help to improve road safety and reduce serious injuries and deaths is something that must be explored.”
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