Car Insurance News from Be Wiser

ABI Calls For A Year Of Driver Training

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has called for novice drivers to be required to learn for a year before being allowed to sit their driving test. According to the ABI, this move, along with restrictions on the number of passengers newly qualified drivers can carry, would help to combat the problem of younger drivers getting into accidents.

"Every year 50,000 17-year-olds pass their driving test with less than six months driving experience. One in three of these drivers are likely to be involved in an accident within the first two years after passing their test," said the ABI's director of general insurance and health.

Car insurance claims are also more frequent for younger drivers, according to the ABI, with an 18-year-old driver with one year's experience twice as likely to make a claim as a 30-year-old driver with similar experience. The ABI has said that the passenger cap in the US has cut fatal crashes by some 37 per cent.

Research carried out by the Transport Research Institute at Napier University and the division of psychology at Staffordshire University in 2006 revealed that 76 per cent of male drivers between 17 and 20 had driven their car just for pleasure in the prior 12 months.

Read more news about: