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Worrying toll of young drivers
Date published: 24 December 2009
ALMOST one in three people killed in road accidents in Oldham is under 25, figures have revealed.
Statistics published by the Department for Transport (DfT) show there have been 32 fatalities in Oldham over the past five years — 10 of them aged 25 or under.
The victims included pedestrians, motor-cyclists and passengers, as well as motorists. The data, released in response to a Parliamentary question, prompted an admission that the Government is concerned about a minority of young drivers who put themselves and others at risk.
The worst year for deaths among young people in Oldham was 2006 when four of the six deaths involved under-25s.
A DfT spokeswoman said: “The majority of new drivers seek to be responsible and safe but we are of course concerned that a small minority of drivers, particularly those in the 17-25 age group, put themselves and other road-users at risk.
“The latest figures show that the total numbers of deaths in crashes involving car drivers aged 17-24 years fell by 22 per cent from the 2007 figure but we know we still need to do more.
“That is why we recently announced a major overhaul of the driver training and testing process.
“This includes a new pre-driver qualification for 14 to 17-year-olds and improvements to the theory and practical tests — including introducing a new assessment of a candidate’s ability to drive independently — to better prepare young drivers for the road.
“We are confident that this new approach will help us to further reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roads.”
The changes by Government follow calls from the Commons transport select committee for tougher measures and restrictions for new drivers.
Comments
32 fatalities in Oldham over the past 5 years — 10 aged 25 or under. That leaves 22 fatalities from other age groups. If we presume that of the remaining two thirds, one third were aged 50 or under and the remaining third were aged 75 or under, which pretty much covers the whole spectrum, then both these groups had a higher fatality rate than the under 25's. Once again more statistics that prove nothing, being introduced to justify 'a major overhaul.' Guess who will pay for it folks?
Statistics are like broken street lamps...they are O.K. to lean on, but the dont show any light on the subject.
I know it is bad that so many young people are killed in road accidents, but could this be affected a small amount by the fact that the under 25's are more likely to be out and about when it is dark and more at risk to accidents than the over 25's
Have Your Say
Simple solution but one that will never happen, loss of taxes.......... Increase the age tio 23. reduce congestion & pollution
By Keith @ 24/12/2009 13:07:47