Male drivers urged to keep road safety in mind

Date: 10/2/2011

Male drivers should ensure road safety is at the forefront of their minds as they look forward to Valentine's Day, it has been claimed.

According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) more young women between the ages of 17 and 19 are either killed or seriously injured when they are a passenger in a car, than when they are driving.

As a result, the group is urging male drivers to take care of their girlfriends when they are behind the wheel.

It adds that while five per cent of driving licence-holders are men under the age of 25, this demographic makes up 14 per cent of drivers involved in a road accident that results in injury.

Such incidents were found to be more likely to occur on country roads and at the weekend.

IAM Chief Examiner Peter Rodger said: "Impress her by driving smoothly and well instead of fast and try sticking to the speed limit: this will save fuel - and leave you more money to spend on roses and chocolates."

In Austria, post-test driver training has helped to reduce young driver fatalities by as much as a third.

The charity Brake recently urged road safety professionals to attend its International Congress on Youth, Gender and Road Risk on June 30th in London, following government statistics revealing one in four deaths or serious injuries to occur on UK roads during 2009 involved a driver aged 17-24.

Posted by Sarah Bailey