Young, overconfident and on the road

New research has suggested a significant variance between how young drivers view their own driving and how safe they think their friends are on the road.

While three-quarters of drivers under 24 years of age believe they are very good drivers, they also think half their peers are dangerous on the roads, according to the new research.

The disconnect between these results suggests a reason why younger drivers are proving so difficult to reach with road-safety messages.

Carried out in the UK by Norwich Union, the research surveyed 1,265 drivers aged 17 to 23 years of age. Norwich Union is owned by Aviva, which also owns Hibernian, one of the largest private motor insurers in the Republic.

Trevor Lowry, product manager with Hibernian, said that while no comparable research had been carried out in Ireland, "it is probable that similar findings would arise.

"We know that younger drivers are disproportionately represented in road fatalities and we can only presume that this reflects their driving ability," he said.

The Road Age report found that 44 per cent of young drivers believe their peers are dangerous drivers.

Almost one in four young male drivers admitted to having driven under the influence of illegal drugs and/or alcohol. Just under half of the young, male drivers questioned admitted they had driven the "morning after", when they could still have been over the limit.

The authors of the report note that drivers aged between 17 and 19 years of age are 10 times more likely to have a drink-drive crash and those aged 20 to 24 are more than four times as likely than other age groups, according to the British Department of Transport.

As a result, "there appears to be a fundamental lack of understanding of the dangers of drink driving and a willingness to risk their lives, and the lives of others, for no real reason", according to the authors.

The most recent Irish fatality data available from the Garda shows that 89 of the 287 people killed on Irish roads up until the second week of November were aged between 16 and 25, with by far the highest fatality rate of any age group.

In the UK, the fatality ratio for young drivers is very similar, with one in three motorists killed on the roads under 25.

The report found that not only are young drivers overconfident about their abilities, they increasingly feel victimised by the way they are portrayed in the media.

They also complain that they are unfairly treated by insurance companies, who typically impose high premiums on young male drivers.

The survey also indicates a lower awareness of how distractions can interfere with a driver's concentration. A significant majority of those questioned said that having friends in the car, music systems or mobile phones did not make them any less safe.

Mr Lowry said young drivers were not alone in taking a subjective approach to their driving abilities.

"There is absolutely no point in simply stating that young drivers are more dangerous or criticising them if we are not prepared to help them," he said.

The Road Safety Authority is currently considering a range of restrictions for inexperienced drivers which will be introduced as part of a graduated licence system.

Among the ideas is a restricted engine capacity, a reduced speed limit and a zero-alcohol limit.

The UK survey found that almost two-thirds of the young drivers questioned were in favour of stronger penalties, up to and including the loss of a licence for driving offences, and lower alcohol limits for young drivers.