Motor cover news
02/11/2010
Could fixed learning equal cheap young driver insurance?
A survey of 2,500 adults has revealed that extending the learning period to one year could be key to reducing the number of accidents and cutting the cost of young driver insurance.
Three quarters of those who took the poll, carried out by the Association of British Insurers, said they felt a mandatory year of supervised driving would better prepare the average learner for real-world conditions.
At present there is no specified learning period - meaning that a seventeen-year-old could go from collecting their learner's licence to taking a practical driving test in as little time as it takes to pass the theory part.
This kind of inexperience is often blamed for the high incidence of road accidents involving young drivers, and is one of the more significant factors behind the price of young driver insurance policies.
"Too many young drivers are still killed or seriously injured on our roads," said ABI director Nick Starling. "A minimum one-year learning period would help ensure that today's young drivers become tomorrow's safer motorists."
Critics of an enforced learning period say that it would cause frustration and further financial burden on learner drivers, and that young driver insurance companies would be slow to react with cheaper premiums.
"Safety campaigners would do better to focus their attention on driving instructors," said a young driver insurance expert from Hoot. "They need to spend more time preparing students for the reality of solo driving and not just concentrate on getting them through the examination."
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