Young drivers in the UK are involved in an alarming number of road crashes.

It is the conclusion of a  Parliamentary report published and debate earlier in the year.

Following this, new data from GoShorty backs up the statistical evidence that this is a national problem.

Behind the wheel

Young drivers in the UK are consistently involved in significantly more road collisions than any other age group.

According to the latest figures published by the UK Parliament and road safety charity Brake, inexperience and risky driving behaviours are contributing to a worrying level of crashes among under-25s.

Every year, over 1,500 young drivers are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads, making road traffic collisions the leading cause of death for young people.

Brake attributes this troubling trend to several key factors, including speeding, overtaking errors, and distractions such as mobile phone use — all of which are more prevalent among younger motorists.

 

At the core

A stark indicator of the issue is that one in five newly qualified drivers crashes within their first year on the road, while only 50% of learner drivers pass their practical driving test on the first attempt.

These figures reflect the belief amongst experts that a lack of driving experience leads to poor decision-making and slower reaction times behind the wheel.

Supporting this, GoShorty’s study found that under-25s were involved in more collisions than drivers aged over 70 in nearly every region surveyed.

This challenges the prevailing media focus on the safety of older drivers, highlighting that younger age groups present a statistically significant concern in terms of road safety.

Facts and figures

Casualties from collisions involving a younger car driver include the younger car driver themselves, the passengers of the cars driven by younger drivers, and all other casualties (including drivers and passengers of other vehicles, or other road users, such as pedestrians).

Source: Department for Transport (DfT), Reported road casualties Great Britain: older and younger driver factsheets, 2023, Younger driver factsheet: data tables, Tables 1 and 2

Casualties are broken down into fatalities (people killed in road collisions), and those injured (further split into seriously and slightly injured based on type of injury sustained).

Killed and seriously injured casualties are commonly grouped together as ‘KSIs’.

The chart below shows there is an increased KSI rate for younger car drivers.

In particular, males aged 17 to 24 are 4 times as likely to be killed or seriously injured while driving compared with all car drivers aged 25 or over.

Source: Department for Transport (DfT), Reported road casualties Great Britain: older and younger driver factsheets, 2023, Younger driver factsheet: data tables, Chart 1

According to DfT statistics:

• In 2023, a younger driver was involved in around a fifth of all killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties from collisions involving cars.
• Between 2004 and 2023 KSI casualties from a collision involving at least one younger car driver decreased from 12,257 to 4,959, a fall of 60%. Those involving other aged car drivers decreased from 31,130 to 19,349, a fall of 38%.
• Between 2019 and 2023, 48% of KSI casualties in younger car driver collisions occurred on rural roads, compared to 42% for other aged car driver collisions.

Between 2019 and 2023, 16% of younger car drivers involved in KSI collisions did not wear seatbelts, the highest proportion among all age groups. In comparison, the lowest percentage was observed in the 70 and above age group, at 4%, with an average of 10%.

Existing restrictions on new drivers

New drivers are subject to extra restrictions through the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995.

Under the provisions of that Act, on acquiring their first full licence, a new driver is on probation for two years, regardless of their age.

Whereas other drivers can accrue up to 12 points before they face disqualification, a new driver is subject to a limit of six penalty points received for any driving offences, including those received during their learning stage.

If six or more points are received, a driver’s licence is revoked, and they must apply again for a provisional licence and retake their practical and theory tests.

Regional Hotspots for Young Driver Collisions

Freedom of Information data collected from 12 UK police constabularies reveal the top five counties with the highest number of road accidents involving both young drivers and those aged over 70. The results clearly indicate a consistent pattern of higher accident rates among the younger group:

Despite calls for more stringent rules on elderly drivers, these figures underscore that under-25s are consistently involved in hundreds more crashes than their over-70 counterparts in the same regions.

The Debate Around Driver Safety

While concerns around older drivers’ health and capabilities continue to attract attention, it’s worth noting that over-70s in the UK are already subject to three-year licence renewals to monitor declining vision, cognition, and mobility.

This compares to once every 10 years for younger adults.

Although about 25% of car driver fatalities in the UK last year involved drivers aged over 70, experts say fatality rates per mile driven are broadly similar across age groups.

Many older drivers voluntarily self-regulate by driving less frequently and avoiding high-risk situations, such as nighttime or motorway driving.

By contrast, the combination of inexperience, increased exposure to risk, and a greater likelihood of engaging in dangerous behaviours places young drivers at the top of the risk scale.

Phil Evans, Managing Director of GoShorty, commented on the findings:

“At a time when road safety among younger drivers is under the spotlight, this data serves as a sobering reminder of the risks associated with inexperience behind the wheel. With under-25s consistently involved in more accidents than any other age group, it’s vital to ensure that tools and services are readily available to help them gain experience safely and gradually.”

Graduated Driver Licensing: A Way Forward?

One policy solution that is repeatedly proposed as a positive way forward and gaining wider support is the introduction of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL).

GDL has never been used in Great Britain but has been used in several other countries.

The government said in November 2024 that it was not considering GDL for Great Britain:

“Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are considering other measures to tackle this problem and protect young drivers.”

The Department for Transport (DfT)’s 2019 Road safety statement notes that, of English-speaking countries, the following jurisdictions have GDL schemes:

• parts of the USA (New York and California)
• parts of Canada (Ontario and British Colombia)
• parts of Australia (New South Wales and Victoria)
• all of New Zealand

Among these jurisdictions, GDL rules include limits on carrying passengers, night-driving, stricter laws on the use of mobile phones and/or drink driving, and mandatory pre-test training periods.

For example, in California, drivers under 18 cannot transport passengers under 20 unless they are supervised. In New Zealand, young and newly qualified drivers are issued a restricted licence, which means they cannot drive unsupervised at night.

The Road Safety statement noted that there is evidence to suggest that these GDL schemes have “proved very effective at improving the safety of young drivers”, but that such schemes also “have the potential to restrict young people’s access to education and employment.”

Support for GDL

In May 2024, Kim Leadbeater MP (Labour, Batley and Spen) introduced the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (New Drivers) bill under the ten-minute rule.

This would have created a GDL scheme for newly qualified drivers.

The bill did not progress past first reading, but the MP said it had the support of the AA and the RAC.

GDL also has the support of other organisations such as the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the road safety charity, Brake.

Studies have shown GDL can reduce young driver collisions by up to 40% in some regions during that highly important and dangerous first year of independent driving.

Brake and other campaigners have long advocated for Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) in the UK, arguing that it could significantly improve safety outcomes for novice drivers.

 

The Road Ahead

Unlike in Great Britain, driving standards and licensing are devolved issues in Northern Ireland.

There have been moves to introduce GDL in Northern Ireland, which the UK Government said in 2018 would serve as a pilot study into its effectiveness “to gather evidence on the potential for GDL in Great Britain”.

The Road Traffic (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 provided the statutory framework to introduce a GDL scheme. However, GDL has yet to be launched, and it is unclear when it will be.

With statistics continuing to highlight young drivers as a key risk group on UK roads, the challenge is to balance accessibility and freedom with the need for greater safety and supervision.

Inexperience, risk-taking behaviour, and regional traffic patterns all contribute to the issue, but solutions like improved education, policy reform, and flexible insurance options offer pathways to improvement.

For now, the data serves as a crucial reminder: while attention often falls on older drivers, it is the younger generation who face — and pose — the greatest dangers behind the wheel.