Facts And Fears
Newcastle Herald
Saturday February 26, 2000
IT is a familiar scenario: parents waking in a cold sweat to the distant sound of an emergency vehicle and wondering whether, this time, their kids might not be coming home.
According to the latest statistics from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and a policyholder profile by insurance company AAMI they probably have a reason to worry.
Nationally, young drivers (aged 16 ? 25) have an unenviable driving record and the percentage points do not adequately describe the sheer volume of mangled metal and injured (and dead) bodies.
One-third of all crashes in the under-25 age group, for example, is a nose-to-tail smash. A further 25% of crashes happen when young drivers fail to give way and one in 10 young drivers crashes simply by losing control of his or her vehicle.
On a gender basis young males have more rear-end crashes than young females, are more likely to hit a stationary object and also more likely to lose control of the car.
Young women, on the other hand, have a much greater risk of damaging their vehicles while reversing than their male counterparts.
Nationally, young men are more likely to cause an incident than drivers in any other age group.
Alarmingly, the AAMI survey found that young drivers (both sexes) are involved in more accidents on weekends and then either late at night or early in the morning, presumably after parties, clubs and discos have closed-up for the night.
Young drivers even have a preference for certain types of vehicles, cars AAMI describes the most popular cars for accident-prone drivers.
Males like Holden Commodores and 45% of them choose to go with the Australian brand. The most popular models are those built in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994 and 1995.
Females, on the other hand, prefer small cars and are more likely to buy late-model Hyundai Excels or early-model Ford Lasers.
AAMI Corporate Affairs Director, Mr Richard Jeffery, said youth and inexperience were contributing factors in crash statistics.
`Combine a young person's sense of adventure with motoring inexperience and it can be a fatal mix. On top of this, young men seem to prefer a bigger, more powerful type of car than females (of the same age) which might tempt them to drive at more dangerous speeds,' Mr Jeffery said.
Because of the high crash statistics the company is one of many backing the new Graduated Licencing Scheme starting in NSW on July 1.
Under the scheme novice drivers will have to spend at least three years on P-plates and undergo expanded skills testing before qualifying for an unrestricted licence.
A similar program was implemented for motorcycle riders some years ago with a positive drop in crash incidents. Truck drivers also have to take part in an expanded learning program.
`Certainly we want to increase awareness of the consequences of some driving habits that all too often result in injuries or fatalities.
`While learner drivers and P-platers might consider this new scheme a little harsh young drivers are four times more likely to be killed in an accident and more than three times likely to be injured in a road accident than other motorists,' Mr Jeffery added.
And while it is comforting to know that the national road toll is falling (last year there were 820 fatalities nationally) it is not so comforting to know that drivers under 25 make-up 26% of the total figure.
Which means when the ambulance is called to a road incident there is a better than 4-in-1 chance it will be carting away another young driver.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
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