It is hard to argue with the numbers – telematics is making better drivers out of a traditionally high-risk group.
“Young driver crashes are both a social and an economic issue. One in five young drivers has a crash in their first six months on the road and so the cost of their insurance has historically reflected this,” says Richard King, the found and CEO of ingenie. “The evidence in this report shows that telematics has the potential to reduce this by at least 40 per cent, through education and incentivizing behaviour change with financial rewards.”
The numbers from the ingenie Young Drivers Report 2014 show that 20 per cent of serious crashes involved under-25s, with only 12 per cent taking the recommended number of driving lessons.
Respondents to the survey admitted to mistakes in their first few weeks and months of driving, with 29 per cent saying their nervousness made them too hesitant, while one in six (17 per cent) forgot to check their mirrors.
Although young drivers are keen to drive well and are quick to learn, Adrian Walsh, the director of RoadSafe points out that training tends to focus on the skills associated with vehicle control, rather than assessing and managing risk.
“With good telematics systems, their mistakes are noted and they receive feedback,” says Walsh. “These systems support and assist drivers to become better – they monitor coach and educate.”
Studies show that after one year with ingenie, young drivers are cutting their crash risk by half, and more than 90 per cent actively engage with automatic telematics feedback on their driving performance.
To read the full ingenie Young Driver Report, click
here.
