Motorists back zero drink-drive limit for young

By BEN MITCHELL
Published on 03/02/2013 00:00

HALF of UK motorists would welcome a zero drink-driving alcohol limit for young drivers, according to a survey.

Of 2,000 motorists questioned, 50 per cent felt the government should introduce the new drink-drive measures and 49 per cent said newly-qualified drivers should be restricted to cars with smaller ­engines.

In addition, 40 per cent of the respondents to the Gocompare.com survey said they would welcome behaviour-based car insurance policies for young drivers.

A total of 34 per cent said the police should have powers to issue instant short-term bans to young motorists they feel are driving recklessly, while 28 per cent agreed with banning young drivers from carrying passengers in their cars until reaching a certain level of driving experience.

Twenty-eight per cent backed the introduction of curfews to prevent youngsters from driving at certain high-risk times, such as late at night.

A spokesman for the comparison website said young male drivers aged between 17 and 20 are ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the roads than more experienced drivers, and their claims costs are likely to be three times higher.

Scott Kelly, head of motor services at Gocompare.com, said: “Young drivers tend to pay substantially more for their car insurance than more experienced drivers, and that’s because, statistically, they 
are more likely to have accidents and incur higher claims costs.

“The results of this study suggest that UK drivers feel it’s time to consider radical new measures to try to curb the number of accidents caused by young drivers, and that perhaps as a group they should be more restricted in how, when or what they can drive.”