Our office has been discussing this topic a lot this past week – and it’s proving divisive.
New legislation proposed by the Government will prevent new drivers under 25 from carrying passengers – also under 25 – for six months after passing their test. The aim, obviously, is to minimise the amount of accidents, as statistically it is the younger age group that has the most accidents.
However, that isn’t necessarily the case as the age progresses to 20-25 – and by that age many people are parents of young children who will be massively disadvantaged by this rule.
Some of us old fogeys at ChooseMyCar.com are parents of older kids ourselves, and can see the appeal. Likewise, some of our younger staff members are up in arms about it. So, we decided to conduct some research to see where the land lies. And it was interesting!
The study looked at the views of UK drivers, and showed that 68 percent of UK drivers aged 18-34 do not support the new proposal. What is more surprising is that this rises slightly for the 35-54 age group, with 70 percent saying they would not support the move.
The only age group that did support it was the over 55s, with just over half (54 percent) agreeing this would be a rule they would support. This rose to a massive 79 percent in the over 65s.
Interestingly, there was a real disparity in agreement between UK drivers who support different political parties. In fact:
- 70% of Conservative voters of all age groups supported the proposal
- Just 39% of Labour voters agreed to support it
- Lib Dems in support with 62%
There was also a degree of disparity in geographical areas, with Northern Ireland being most against the proposal with 72 percent disagreeing. Most in support was Wales, with 54 percent.
- NI 72% oppose
- London 59%
- Mids 58%
- North 54%
- South England – 51% oppose
- Scotland 50%
- Wales 46%
The study also asked UK drivers if they would be more willing to agree with the legislation if changes or exceptions were made, for example for young parents. The statistics found that:
- 27% feel there should be an exemption for parents with young children
- 14% feel the scheme could have a limit of 1 passenger for a new under-25 driver
- 19% feel the scheme should focus on very young drivers, so the scheme should only be for those 20 and under
- 54% don’t support the ban even with any changes or exemptions
Nick Zapolski, our founder, thinks the stats suggest that the Government needs to more carefully look at its proposals.
“I can understand where this proposal is coming from, with young people statistically the most likely to have accidents. And as a parent, I can understand the concerns.
“However, our study shows that the people this legislation will affect are not in agreement with it, which seems very unfair. The fact that only Conservative voters are in support is also not acceptable.
“With some further research and conditions, I think this proposal could be one that doesn’t unfairly discriminate and still meets its goals of reducing fatalities and accidents on our roads.”
What are your views on the proposal for the graduated driving licence scheme?
