There are almost 5,000 newly-licensed drivers aged between 18 and 24 in Malta, according to the National Statistics Office – yet until recently few insurers were interested in their business. A few products have now been launched on the market but there is still considerable scope for improving the chances of having an accident.
You might expect that ,since young drivers are healthier, have better eyesight and faster reaction times, they should be better drivers. However, the reality is the risk of a young driver being involved in an accident is statistically two to four times greater than a person who has had at least an eight-year driving experience. It takes a new driver between five and seven years to reach the mean accident rate of a driver aged over 30.
Young drivers account for just 12 per cent of licence holders, but they are involved in 25 per cent of all road deaths and serious accidents.
Research indicates that it is not the lack of experience alone which results in one in every five drivers having a crash in their first six months on the road.
Adolescence is a period of transition and at that age may seek to assert themselves, compete with their peers and seek excitement. It does not help that this age group has generally greater access to use of alcohol /drugs and do a lot more night driving.
As a result, comprehensive cover for a driver aged between 18 and 20 could range from €1,000 for an 11 year-old car, to nearly €3,000 for a new one, dropping to below €1,000 and €2,450 respectively for a 21-year-old.
Until now the solution was for young drivers in Malta to licence their car and insure it in the name of a parent but they would then lose the no-claims discount which can grow to as much as 70 per cent over five years. However, some parents might not have an insurance policy in their name (say because they drive a company car), or they might not drive at all.
In the UK insurers would not allow a policy to be issued in the parent’s name if the main user is the young driver. They would consider this as “fronting” and would then refuse to pay claims, a position supported by the UK Financial Services Ombudsman.
The new products launched in Malta by Gasan Mamo and Middlesea both come with a device which monitors things like speed, but the Association of British Insurers had come up with some other policy recommendations (see box) which should fuel local debate.
Association of British Insurers: Proposed measures (2012)
• A minimum 12 month learning period before the driving test can be taken, enabling drivers to undertake supervised practice without an incentive to rush to take the practical test.
As the international evidence and experience shows, a minimum supervised learning period is a key component of graduated driver licensing schemes. For some countries this period lasts six months although the most common minimum learning period is 12 months.
• Lowering of the age at which young people can start learning to drive to 16 and a half years.
Allowing young people to obtain a provisional licence at 16 and a half mitigates the impact on their mobility that would result from having a 12 month mandatory minimum learning period starting at age 17.
In practice, this will mean that few young people will be adversely affected as they will undertake their practical test at a similar age to the current system.
• A ban on intensive driving courses.
These courses – usually just two weeks long – place little emphasis on accumulating road experience during the learning period and as a result young drivers are not likely to have gained sufficient driving experience to be safe road users after completing these courses.
• Introducing graduated driver licensing for drivers under the age of 25.
After passing a test, the driver would proceed to the intermediate stage, which should last two years. There would be restrictions on the number of passengers a young person could carry and the time of day they could drive with possible exemptions for work or medical appointments.
These restrictions would last six months after passing the driving test. In addition, there would be a further restriction – the lowering of the blood alcohol concentration for young drivers – lasting for the full restricted period of two years. A second driving test at the end of the two-year period would then be undertaken to ensure that drivers have the required competencies to drive in accordance with the Highway Code.
The presence of young passengers in a car can both distract young drivers and encourage them to drive in a more risky way. The collision rate for young drivers increases with each additional passenger carried: fatality risks to 16- or 17-year-old drivers: increases by 44 per cent when carrying one passenger; doubles when carrying two passengers; and quadruples when carrying three or more passengers.
• The restricted period: A night time driving restriction between 11pm and 4am during the first six months of driving.
Late night driving increases crash risk among young drivers for a variety of reasons such as driver fatigue, lack of driving experience and recreational driving at night.
• A lowering of the blood alcohol limit to 20mg/100ml during the intermediate phase.
A lowering of the alcohol limit to 20mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood (from the current 80mg) would, in effect, act as a zero limit as, if consumed, an alcoholic drink would push this limit beyond 20mg/100 ml of blood. The 20mg also allows for consumption of alcohol linked with products such as mouthwash and confectionary which contain small amounts of alcohol.