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Young driver deaths double

The death rate among young drivers has doubled in the past five years, according to the latest research, prompting calls for more restrictions on those who have recently passed their tests.

Road safety across the general population is actually improving, yet there has been a sharp increase in the number of drivers under the age of 20 who are involved in fatal road accidents. As a result, numerous people have died and the price of young driver car insurance is on the rise.

Figures unveiled this week show that a third more young drivers were killed in 2004 than in 2000, despite a 50% decrease in the proportion of youngsters with driving licences. 19.2 per 100,000 young people died on the roads in 2004, compared with just 9.7 in 2000.

Less young people than ever are now learning to drive, mainly due to the high cost of lessons and motor insurance, but experts have warned that this could actually be contributing to the high number of road deaths.

Andrew Howard from the AA said, "If you are the only person in your group of friends with a licence and always have to do the driving, it may be more tempting to have a drink."

The AA have also suggested controversial new proposals banning youngsters from the road between midnight and 5am, as well as limiting the number of passengers they can carry.

A spokesman for Hoot Car Insurance Services, the young driver car insurance experts, said, "Tests have become harder and more complex in recent years, so you would think that deaths on the road would actually have fallen.

"It really does pay to take care when you're behind the wheel and, as for drink driving, don't even think about it."