Why do young drivers crash? It’s a brain-thing

The numbers are daunting: each year, of the more than 490,000 newly qualified U.K. young drivers who begin driving on their own for the first time, nearly 50,000 will crash in the first six months.

The numbers are daunting: each year, of the more than 490,000 newly qualified U.K. young drivers who begin driving on their own for the first time, nearly 50,000 will crash in the first six months.

And according to a recent ingenie Young Driver Survey, those numbers aren’t necessarily due to recklessness, but a lack of cognitive maturity and experience that an adult over the age of 25 possesses.

“Young drivers are keen to drive well and are quick to learn. However, much of their training focuses on the skills associated with controlling a vehicle rather than their attitude to assessing and managing risk” says Adrian Walsh, director of RoadSafe. “Then, before they have gained sufficient experience, they pass their test and take to the road. They make mistakes, often with disastrous consequences, and frequently simply don’t know what went wrong.”

The ingenie Young Driver Report 2014 contends that after collecting over 200 million miles of data since its telematics launch in 2011, the numbers show that the technology does contribute to saving lives, and making for better drivers.

Although under-25s only make up 8 per cent of all road users, they are involved in 20 per cent of serious road incidents. This can be attributed to the lack of development in the frontal cortex, the human brain’s risk assessment centre, which isn’t fully developed until around the age of 25.

According to ingenie, it underlines the need for most young drivers to have some form of ‘co-pilot’ during those initial months of driving.

“Having the black box means they get a co-pilot as they hit the road for the first time, and the great thing about this is the peace of mind it gives us parents,” says ingenie ambassador, Gary Lineker. “I have the ingenie app on my phone so I can see how the boys are doing, and if I notice things slipping, I’ll give them a ring. It puts an end to arguing about their driving and starts a conversation about the facts.”

With telematics, studies prove that after one year with ingenie, young drivers halve their crash risk, and more than 90 per cent engage with automatic telematics feedback about their performance. (continued.)
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“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. They have been used in many commercial businesses with great success and now we are seeing that they can be really effective in helping young drivers to become excellent drivers too.”

Among those surveyed in the 17-24 age bracket who were involved in an accident, the numbers break down as follows:
23 per cent failed to look properly;
15 per cent reported a loss of control;
13 per cent failed to judge the other person’s path or speed;
13 per cent were careless, reckless or in a hurry;
9 per cent were a learner or inexperienced driver;
9 per cent were on a slippery road (due to weather);
9 per cent made a poor turn or manoeuvre;
9 per cent were travelling too fast for the road conditions;
6 per cent were exceeding the speed limit; and
5 per cent were braking suddenly.

Of greater concern was the usage of cell phones while driving.

Although mobile phone usage was to blame for a relatively small proportion of the crashes reported by young drivers, some 39 per cent admitted that they had used their phone for texting or social media – despite 42 per cent believing that it was illegal to use a phone in any way behind the wheel.

 

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