Skip to main content

UK’s young drivers diminishing in number

Data available from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) shows a continuing drop in the number of young people learning to drive. According to DfT research, fewer teenagers and young adults are now taking driving lessons or sitting driving tests than in previous decades. The cost of insurance is thought to be a major factor, since insurance firms have begun using more accurate calculations to determine the risk of young adults being involved in a crash. This has led to a massive jump in insurance premium
September 12, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Data available from the UK’s 5432 Department for Transport (DfT) shows a continuing drop in the number of young people learning to drive. According to DfT research, fewer teenagers and young adults are now taking driving lessons or sitting driving tests than in previous decades. The cost of insurance is thought to be a major factor, since insurance firms have begun using more accurate calculations to determine the risk of young adults being involved in a crash. This has led to a massive jump in insurance premiums for young drivers. The DfT has also calculated that young drivers aged 17-24 have eight times the risk of being involved in a crash than the average driver. The DfT’s data shows that only a third of young men now pass their driving test while still a teenager, compared with 51% in the mid-1990s. However there has only been a comparatively small drop in the number of young females passing their driving test.

The issue of falling interest in driving and cars has been noted in other countries and by auto manufacturers. However. Car firms are engaging in a major debate over encouraging young people to drive, although the issue is more complicated due to the emergence of autonomous car technology.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Dozers and graders provide finishing cut
    November 6, 2012
    Established players face increasing competition in the market for bulldozers and graders - Mike Woof reports The world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment, Caterpillar is a company with a strong position worldwide and this has all grown from its track type tractor range. Caterpillar has long dominated the bulldozer market, as well as being involved in the grader segment since the inter-war period. The firm’s history ties it directly to the development of the crawler track with Ben Holt’s track
  • TRL delivers its vision
    July 31, 2012
    The UK's world-renowned TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) is celebrating its 75th birthday this year, and the objective of its work has not changed In 1938 Richard Stradling, director, wrote that "the objective of all the research work at RRL [now TRL] is to accumulate that body of scientific knowledge which is an essential factor in the economical and efficient construction and maintenance of our roads. Practical application of the results must be the aim throughout." While TRL's remit today is far more
  • VDMA bullish
    March 5, 2012
    A positive outlook of business has been revealed by the German equipment manufacturers association, the VDMA.
  • Cost of Britain's road deaths and injuries
    May 15, 2012
    The UK Government’s annual report on the number of road deaths and injuries shows that 2,222 people were killed in Britain in 2009 while, according to police statistics, 24,690 were seriously injured. However, the real figure is estimated to be closer to 80,000 when data from other sources are taken into account. For the first time the government has estimated the total cost of road deaths and injuries to the economy, taking into account under-reporting of injuries by police and using other data sources.