Sue Gyford: Steering our inexperienced drivers away from danger

The www.dontriskit.info website, run by the Scottish Government, shows that there were 122 people killed or seriously injured on the roads of Edinburgh between 2004 and 2008.

Ninety-five of the 122 victims were male and the largest age group involved is 16-24-year-olds.

So what can be done to combat the risk to those drivers – and others who cross their path?

It may not be practical to crack down only on male drivers, but there are a whole range of ideas about how young drivers in general could be encouraged to drive more safely.

Independent lobby group The Association of British Drivers favours the use of provisional, or P, plates for novice drivers. Spokesman Hugh Bladon said: "I think that we would suggest that the P plate is a pretty good idea because when you've passed your test, that's when you start to learn how to drive.

"Whether you have restrictions on somebody who's driving under a P plate is another matter. Without doubt, there's a large number of boys who are coerced into driving beyond their abilities because they've got people in the car with them, so there may be an argument for having restrictions on the number of people in the car, and a P plate makes it easier for the police to see that."

Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, has campaigned to increase the restrictions on novice drivers and argued in parliament that the drink-drive limit for all ages should be reduced to cut the death rate among the young, who are disproportionately likely to be involved in a drink-drive smash.

He also called for "graduated licensing", which increases drivers' freedoms as they gain age and experience.

He said: "The tragic reality is that deaths and injuries are higher among young drivers than the average, so I think we have to look at anything that can cut this death rate. A graduated licence scheme is something which works in other countries, so I think it would make a lot of sense if it was brought in for the UK."

In South Australia, for example, there is a four-stage graduated licence scheme. It begins with 16-year-olds, who must drive with an L plate, accompanied by an experienced driver, and can lose their learner's permit if they accumulate four "demerits" by breaking strict rules.

Each of the four stages takes them through a range of further courses, tests and the use of provisional plates until, at the age of 19, they are finally eligible for a full licence.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents thinks it is more important to make sure drivers are safe before they get their licence, rather than restricting them afterwards.

Its road safety officer for Scotland, Kathleen Braidwood, said: "It makes more sense to improve how we train and test drivers, rather than just accepting that the way of doing it is flawed and then imposing restrictions on newly-qualified drivers.

"A graduated driving licensing system is in place in some other countries, but there would need to be a lot of detailed work to see how and if it would work over here. We're not at a stage where we could say 'yes, let's have one', but we would like to consider it in a bit more detail."

The AA, however, thinks it has a solution. It argues that any blanket bans on certain behaviours would require a huge increase in policing to make them enforceable.

Instead, the organisation suggests there should be a list of behaviours which could be taken into account when novice drivers commit an existing motoring offence. If they are caught speeding late at night with a car full of young passengers, they might find themselves referred to court to explain themselves rather than just receiving a ticket.

Young people would be discouraged from potentially dangerous behaviour but only those who actually drive dangerously would be penalised, and police would only be looking for people committing existing offences. Drivers would also have the opportunity to explain themselves in court.

The organisation's head of road safety, Andrew Howard, said: "In court, you could argue that you'd been held up on the A1 north of Berwick and it was out of your control that you were out late at night, whereas if you were coming back from the pub, the court might think differently.

"This would mean that if a policeman pulled someone up for doing 40 in a 30 zone when he had a car-full, he would take them to court. But we don't see how you can ban this sort of thing outright – the consequences are far too great.

"When we talked about it at the House of Commons select committee, they said: 'Well, do the courts have time?' and my answer would be 'If we think the problem is so serious that we consider doing something about it, then the courts would have time.'"

While the debate over young drivers rages, the new statistics do offer some helpful information for the rest of us.

They reveal that the safest day by far on Edinburgh's roads is Monday – and the safest time of day is between noon and 6pm.