It's great to pass your Driving Test first time but that's only the start of a lifelong car journey and does not confirm immortality! Many new drivers are blissfully ignorant what's facing them in the first years of their motoring life after passing their Driving Test.
This period is definately the most dangerous in their driving life. The experience of passing the Driving Test on the first, second or even third occassion seems to distort the reality of driving in 2010. Driving today is completely different to even five years ago, roads are getting busier and more congested and their has been a huge rise in untrained, uninsured young drivers.
Today in not only do we have a huge increase in the number of cars and trucks on the road but an related increase of inexperienced, and often illegal, motorists who are driving merrily around the countryside with little or no skills to back them up. The issue of uninsured drivers is helped by the fact that most new drivers think they are being ripped off the insurance industry. Lots of companies won't even insure teenage drivers regardless of the fact that may become lifelong customers. The United Kingdom the highest number of uninsured drivers in Europe, an estimated, one and a half million uninsured cars our roads. Uninsured drivers are five times more likely than legal car drivers to be involved in a crash, fail to comply with other road traffic law or to be involved in criminal activity.
There has recently been a crackdown on this behavior in Kent. When out on patrol, police are using ANPR, automatic number plate recognition, scanning car number plates every few minutes. They instantly check if a vehicle has valid MoT certificate, tax disc and whether is insuranced.
The BBC interviewed Chief Inspector Richard Joyce from Surrey Police, who worked a combined operation with traffic officers from Kent and Sussex on the M25.
He said: “We have the power to stop and arrest drivers who have no insurance. The outcome for them may be a fine, points on their licence or even having their car scrapped.”
Learner drivers should be aware that within two years of passing their driving test they are subject to a probationary period, during which they will lose their driving licence if they amass 6 points. Their licence is revoked and they have to re-apply for a provisional licence. Then they have to pass the theory, hazard perception and practical tests again. The number of penalty points given for driving with no insurance is 6 points equalling instant disqualification.
Stephen, from Surrey, was caught driving without insurance when he was 18. He said, “Essentially I couldn’t afford it,it cost was too much."“I knew I should have had it but I also knew I was a good driver and I was safe.”
Sadly, this is the view of many inexperienced drivers – they have the “it’ll never happen to me” syndrome. The Chief Executive of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Ashton West says that the high cost of covering young drivers is not just about what car they drive. In fact, it is usually down to the risk the driver poses on the roads.
We need to raise the profile of this issue.
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