I pointed out recently an article which talked of the problem of 17-29 year old stop-start drivers. However, there is a much better report now available than the one I’d initially seen.
The AXA Insurance information says that of the stop-starters, only 20% of them were able to drive to a standard that would pass the test, even though they had all recently passed.
Only 45% were confident they remembered what they’d been taught. But 28% said they remembered nothing! Of regular drivers, 72% said they remembered all or most of what they’d learnt.
On road knowledge:
- 45% didn’t know the maximum speed on the motorway
- 46% didn’t know what a No Waiting sign looked like
- 23% thought that the No Overtaking sign meant you COULD overtake
- 73% didn’t know what a zig-zag line meant
On confidence, only 11% described themselves as confident, compared to 54% of regular drivers. Although 41% thought a refresher course would be a good idea, but that was split between 33% of men and 46% of women.
As far as having accidents goes, although they spent less time on the road they still had at least as many bumps as regular drivers of the same age group. As I said in that last article:
- those who drive once or twice a month are FIVE TIMES more likely to have had FOUR own-fault bumps than those who drive daily
- they were 14 TIMES more likely to have had FIVE own-fault bumps
- they were 11 TIMES more likely to be uninsured when they had those bumps
Scary, isn’t it?