Car Insurance News from Be Wiser

A Third Of 16-19 Year Olds Driven Unlicensed

More than a third of 16-19 year-olds have been passengers in cars being driven by an unlicensed driver, claims research from the Brake Road Safety Campaign and FedEx. The academy, jointly run by both organisations, has been visiting schools, colleges and young offender's institutes to deliver its message that unsafe driving can kill.

Almost 800 under-25s were killed in car and motorbike crashes in 2005. Brake trainers include volunteers injured in or bereaved by road crashes as well as community workers and FedEx employees.

"Unlicensed young drivers make a conscious decision to drive without the necessary qualification, and often with their cars packed full of young passengers," said a Brake chief executive.

"They risk not only their own lives, but the lives of their passengers and other road users, and there is an urgent need to crack down on this wide-spread lawbreaking that costs lives through more education and tougher enforcement."

The Department for Transport estimates that unlicensed male drivers aged 17 to 29-years-old may be more than ten times more likely to be involved in a crash than all other drivers. They are also up to four times more likely to be involved in a crash than licensed drivers in the same age group.

Read more news about: