- 71% of fatal accidents involving 17-24 year olds happen on rural roads
- New interactive map from the AA Charitable Trust reveals deadliest rural roads
- Poor road surface and blind spots have been given as possible reasons
The AA Charitable Trust have put together a new map to help raise awareness of the problem of young people being involved in fatal crashes on rural roads.
The map, below, shows the worst roads in the country for collision density, the worst of which being the A229 in Kent.
While rural driving is included in the DVSA’s ‘learning to drive’ syllabus, many inner-city pupils may miss out on the experience of practicing on these types of roads.
Possible explanations for these collisions statistics are:
- Lack of visibility on tight bends
- Overgrown or high hedges
- Poor road surfaces including potholes
- No pavements/cycle paths
- Weather conditions affecting visibility and surface
The study analysed 74,919 cases of young drivers involved in crashes of all injury severities on rural roads between 2013 and 2018, and found that young drivers face a higher risk of death (2% compared to the average of 11.3%) and serious injury (15.2% compared to 11.3%)
Most dangerous UK roads by % of all crashes
(The percentage of crashes which involved young drivers, indicating the crash risk relative to that of other drivers)
1. A6076 in County Durham
2. A704 in West Lothian
3. A419 in Gloucestershire
4. A388 in Cornwall
=5. A41 in Hertfordshire
=5. A846 in Argyll & Bute
=7. A5093 in Cumbria
=7. A885 in Argyll & Bute
=7. A4068 in Powys
=7. A436 in Gloucestershire
Edmund King, AA Charitable Trust director, said: “Many young drivers and indeed parents are unaware that rural roads pose a specific and significant risk to young drivers and potentially are much more dangerous than motorways or urban roads.
‘Our data clearly shows that the rural road risk is highest for the youngest drivers on our roads and decreases with each year of age. This is a clear sign greater education and exposure to rural roads helps alleviate the risks they pose.
‘This is just the first stage in what we plan to be an ongoing campaign to really improve the education of young drivers on rural roads.”
🤔 What more can we do in the driver training industry to bring these figures down?
Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, added: “I strongly support the AA in their work to improve the education of drivers. Our award-winning THINK! campaign challenges social norms among younger drivers – including attitudes to speeding and driving on rural roads –and I look forward to working together to prevent further tragedies.”
🤔 Could the government be doing any more?
Comment your thoughts below.
Dave Foster MA, Dip.DI (or Driving School Dave) is the most qualified driving school owner in the country, after completing his Master’s Degree in Driver Training Education in 2011 at Middlesex University. He also holds a diploma in Driving Instruction and is a Cert Ed. qualified teacher. Dave is the founder and Managing Director of 1st 4 Driving Ltd, and also looks after over 15 driving schools across the country on a consultancy basis.
