Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represent the most common cause of death for young women in Britain today.
The main threat to young women, in an RTA context, was recently identified by Chief Superintendent Geraint Anwyl as… young men – and, more specifically, the adrenalin that courses through their veins whilst at the wheel (compared with whose pernicious effects mere alcohol and drugs are but trivial concerns).
According to road safety charity Brake, RTAs – as opposed to ORTAs (off road traffic accidents) and RATNPs (road accidents, traffic not present) of which there are thankfully few these days – account for 74% of deaths among those aged 16–19, with more passengers killed than drivers.
Brake also claim you have a 1 in 5 chance of crashing within six months of passing your driving test.
No big surprise, then, that new figures from Monkeysupermeerkat revealed this week that newly qualified drivers now face annual premiums of around £5,957 – two-thirds the maximum tuition fees chargable by UK universities. So will the government shortly be launching a premium loans scheme?
One solution to such prohibitive costs, assuming your parents have qualms about frontin’ for ya (though Cooperative Insurance reckons 41% are prepared to break the law to save their kids a few quid), is not to bother with insurance. The Men in Black (MIB) estimate that 20% of those aged between 17 and 22 drive without insurance.
They should think carefully before driving uninsured though. In saving themselves a paltry £5,957 they risk picking up a fixed penalty fine of £200 and three points on their licence.
So just remember, Kids, crime doesn’t pay!
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