Aggressive driving techniques 'could be tackled with training'

Date: 22/8/2011

There is a need for additional training in order to iron out the aggressive driving techniques that have been witnessed among some young drivers.

Such is the conclusion of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), after learning that half of crashes involving individuals under the age of 20 are caused by the "reaction factors" or errors made by the person behind the wheel.

This falls to 42 per cent among drivers in their 20s and 33 per cent for those aged 40 to 60.

Of the road crashes involving young motorists between 2005 and 2009, 14.5 per cent were caused by a loss of control, 10.5 per cent by the driver travelling at too high a speed for the conditions and six per cent by those breaking the speed limit.

Each of these was identified as an aggressive motoring technique by the IAM.

Chief Executive of the group Simon Best said: "Seventeen to 25-year-olds are only 15 per cent of the driving population and yet they have 30 per cent of all accidents and account for 40 per cent of insurance claims. It's clear that handing a driving licence over without offering further help is putting far too many young people at unacceptable risk."

He recommended post-test training to provide coaching on using rural roads, driving at night and in different weather conditions.

Overall, however, motorists are becoming more sensible behind the wheel, with the Sainsbury's Car Insurance Driver Behaviour Index for 2011 revealing that the proportion of Britons using a mobile phone while in control of a car has fallen from 11 per cent to six per cent in the last year.

Posted by Sarah Bailey