Young rural drivers are almost twice as likely to crash as their urban counterparts, according to a new survey by Road Safety Analysis, conducted for Michelin. They were 44 per cent more likely to be involved in a collision.
Rural drivers are also 68 per cent more likely to be involved in a collision on 60mph road, with 41 admitting they were more inclined to drive faster on urban roads.
Michelin’s head of government affairs, Darren Lindsey, said of the findings, "It is not the fact that rural roads are inherently more dangerous than urban roads. The fact is that young rural drivers are more likely to crash, either because they feel more confident driving at speeds, negotiating bends or driving on unlit roads.”
It was pointed out that rural drivers were not necessarily worse at driving, but the combination of high confidence (due to feeling experienced on the roads, and those roads being perceived as quiet), with higher speeds, unlit roads and obscured hazards, creates a perilous cocktail. Rather than leading to situations merely requiring vehicle recovery, many incidents prove fatal.
There have been a number of ideas from the government on how to reduce the death rate of younger drivers, summarized recently in a Green Paper on improving the safety of younger drivers. The Road Safety Analysis data suggests that there is support for some of the measures among young drivers themselves; around 40% of 17-25 year olds support compulsory motorway driving lessons, and a comparable number back breath-alcohol ignition locks and nighttime motorway training.
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