Skip to main content

Norway to address young male driver safety?

Safety campaigners in Norway are proposing a novel approach to cutting road accident levels. With data showing that young male drivers account for a disproportionately high number of accidents, calls are being made for increased regulations in order to boost safety. Those suggesting the changes believe that tougher rules for young male drivers in the 18-24 age group would reduce the number of traffic accidents.Norway's accident data reveals that of road accidents involving fatalities, young men are the driv
May 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Safety campaigners in Norway are proposing a novel approach to cutting road accident levels. With data showing that young male drivers account for a disproportionately high number of accidents, calls are being made for increased regulations in order to boost safety. Those suggesting the changes believe that tougher rules for young male drivers in the 18-24 age group would reduce the number of traffic accidents.

Norway’s accident data reveals that of road accidents involving fatalities, young men are the drivers in 20% of accidents. The safety campaigners say that cars driven by men in the 18-24 age range should be equipped with an interlock device and have a built-in speed limiter. Young male drivers should also be prohibited from carrying passengers.

But according to the 5470 Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF), these measures will have little impact. Instead emphasis should be on safer cars, improved road standards and information campaigns.

Norway’s road safety record is amongst the best in the world, due to a mixture of low traffic densities overall on the road network, good driver education and good vehicle condition. Other countries with good road safety standards, such as Sweden and the UK, have similar approaches to reducing accident levels. And in these countries too, the disparity of accidents involving young male drivers has been identified. But many other countries around the world have yet to tackle the specific problems to road safety caused by young males in the 18-24 age range, which is one reason why their road fatality rates will remain high.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Western construction firms operating in developing nations face extra challenges
    January 9, 2024
    Contracting firms carrying out road construction works in developing nations can face extra challenges - Gordon Feller reports
  • Frost-heave a problem on Norwegian roads
    May 8, 2012
    Frost-heaving continues to be a problem on Norwegian roads despite the introduction of tougher regulations for building and frost securing over the last 20-30 years. An expert group at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) has reviewed the problem and concluded that lacking technical competence among road builders and those controlling construction is the main problem. Norway’s Directorate of Public Roads (Vegdirektoratet) admits that there are problems with the lack of competence but
  • Drink driving a concern for the UK
    August 28, 2019
    The rate of road crashes from drink driving remains a serious concern in the UK. In 2017, there were 220 road deaths in the UK attributable to drink driving, according to the latest figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), the same as for the previous year. However, there were 1,110 crashes caused by drink driving, an increase from the 1,010 from the previous year. In all, there were 8,600 deaths and serious injuries from road crashes in 2017, a drop from the 9,040 of the previous year but still hig
  • Breath test 50th anniversary
    October 6, 2017
    It is now 50 years since the breathalyser testing system to check for alcohol use was introduced in the UK. Police carried out the first roadside breath test on a motorist in Shropshire on the 8th October 1967. The breath testing for alcohol has had a major benefit for UK road safety as in 1967 there were 1,640 road fatalities attributed to alcohol, almost as many road deaths as there were in total in the UK last year. The push to make drink driving regarded as dangerous, anti-social behaviour has had a maj