Young drivers improve skills via "trial and error"

Date: 3/5/2011

"Trial and error" is the process by which many of today's young drivers improve their skills behind the wheel.

Such is the opinion of Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Advanced Motorists Simon Best, who has also announced the charity will hold an event designed to educate motorists in a way that is informative and safe.

He explains that young drivers - and particularly men - are more likely to be killed in an accident on the road than any other age group.

"After passing the driving test there is currently no requirement to take any further driver-development training. In road safety terms, this confines 17 to 25-year-old drivers - who suffer (proportionally) the greatest number of deaths and injuries - to improvement by trial and error," he notes.

Mr Best adds that as a result, there is "substantial" evidence to suggest that receiving further training after obtaining a license can help to reduce fatalities.

Distraction can be one of the issues that increases the likelihood of crashing, with Santander revealing that three in ten men have admitted to experiencing a near miss due to being sidetracked while behind the wheel.

Posted by Sarah Bailey