The UK Could Soon Introduce A Tiered Driving Licence
The UK is to look at the possible benefits of a graduated driving licence system, where newly-qualified drivers will have restrictions placed upon them for a set amount of time.
Theresa May said in parliament that she would “look at” introducing a tiered driving licence. The Prime Minister is also asking the Department for Transport (DfT) to do the same.
Trials in other countries have been a success, reports Auto Express, reducing the amount of accidents involving young and inexperienced drivers. At present one on four young drivers ends up in an accident within two years after passing their tests.
Every year in the UK there are 400 deaths and serious injuries in crashes involving drivers with less than a couple of years on the roads. In Northern Ireland you have to use an R-plate for a year after passing your test, and you’re not allowed to breach 45mph. In Finland the test pass is just a stepping stone, beyond which is more and tougher testing – including night-time driving.
Auto Express cites a 2013 DfT study that found “indisputable” evidence that a tiered driving licence system cuts the numbers of crashes. It suggested a figure of 4471 annual casualties saved, with financial benefits of £224 million thanks to lower demand on the emergency services and NHS.
Source: Auto Express
Comments
Sooooo happy I live in America….
Ya but we need a more rigorous driving test here anyways. People here (or at least here in FL) are scary when it comes to distractions and negligence
What the UK needs is to make motorway lessons mandatory before attempting to pass the test. The amount of people that don’t know how to use the motorway is staggering and it’s the place where I have the most close calls.
I don’t know anything about the UK’s driver laws but in America you can’t have more than 1 passenger and can’t drive late at night for young drivers. Does the UK have these already?
So you’re saying the US encourages young drivers to drive through daytime traffic and rush hour when there are so many things to pay attention to than late at night when the roads are empty? Hurray for logic
Hopefully it wont make its way to germany to having learner drivers crawling around at 45mph on the left lane of the autobahn this wont end nice
Will there be one for Prius environmentalists?
I’m not fundamentally against it. Differences in the minimum requirements for driving licences (due to differences in minimum lessons required, etc) make for drastic differences in driving skill Europe-wide.
I used to live in Germany and got my licence there and as such I find the driving attitude of the French and most especially Belgians simply appalling. Almost got killed twice by Belgian drivers because of the terrible driving habits of some of them
Will it make insurance for young drivers reasonable tho?
Doesn’t work, means more learner drivers on the road for longer not getting any real experience except learning all their parents bad habits. Its here in Australia and it does nothing at all because the majority of the idiots on the road are generally older than teenagers.
One of the problems here (at least in VIC) is the limit on power. My family has a 1991 commodore with no airbags and a v6 and a 2012 commodore with a V8, but I’m forced to drive the one with no airbags or electronic safety systems. It’s very dangerous. With our shithouse roads and shithouse weather in melbs, if there’s a pool of water, the rear wheels can lose grip (which has happened a few times) (definitely not hooning).
I’m not familiar with the laws in the U.K., but does the first level of your license give you no restrictions? Here in Australia, you have to go through up to three stages before you are relieved of all restrictions (L plate, red Ps and then green Ps).
First you get a provisional where you can drive any car with an L plate on it but there must be someone in the car with you who is atleast 21 and has had a full licence for atleast 3 years. The car you drive also needs insurance which means you can’t drive anything fast as the insurance company would just refuse to insure it. Once you get your full licence you can drive anything it’s unrestricted however because of the insurance costs then the chances of getting something powerful or fast as a first car after passing are very low unless you’re a millionaire, as you get older and more experienced you build up no claims bonus and it gets cheaper to the point where you can afford to get faster/more powerful cars
Don’t expect to see that extra money saving make it to your pocket…
restrictions aren’t needed. What is, would be more intense and longer mandatory driver training programs with discounts on insurance based on time spent in program. Giving people less time on the road won’t help them improve quicker, and having them learn their parents bad habits is just a disaster.
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