Driving: Time to Change?

February 10th, 2012 | By PG

 
Driving is one of the most essential parts of life in modern Britain, but for young people it is becoming increasingly difficult to get on the road.

Fuel prices, insurance and road tax are constantly rising, making it less and less affordable.  Even less affordable for young people, who not only have to contend with all of that but are also penalised just for wanting to drive and yes, for being inexperienced as all new drivers are.

 The driving test itself is becoming increasingly difficult to pass so why does the price of insurance keep rising? Surely harder tests and stricter pass criteria would make for better new young drivers.

 Perhaps driving should be integrated into our National Curriculum, as it is in the USA. Where young drivers are educated from an early age (16yrs+) giving them more experience. The result would hopefully be much lower insurance premiums and some of the stigma being removed from young drivers thus, improving everyone’s mobility.  Not just physically, but social and financial mobility as an increasing number of jobs require a driving license , often many higher paid jobs.  

But with the Government’s current agenda’s this will probably never happen. For our cash-strapped government, more drivers on the road= more tax and fuel duty which is affectively pricing many people out of owning and running a car. Especially young people who are already facing sky-high insurance premiums just for being young. For unemployed young people a car opens up opportunities to a wider geographic job market and the mobility to get higher skilled jobs.

 Another potential solution would be changing the car licensing system to operate much like that of motorcycles. Whereby, once you pass your driving test you are restricted to cars of a certain power (BHP) or engine size for a specified period of time. This would limit the number of new drivers risking overpowered cars that they lack the experience to drive.

This may again reduce the sting of insurance for under 25’s and help some of Britain’s younger residents get access to the road and cars they so sorely need.

A final and perhaps more appropriate solution would be for the Government to realise that no matter how hard tests become or how much education new/young drivers receive, it is the insurers who are to blame for refusing to give up the monopoly they hold over motorists. If Parliament can’t pressure them into dropping prices then perhaps some sort of financial subsidy is in order to enable new/young motorists to access what could be called one of life’s basic necessities.

Please feel free to share your thoughts about making driving fairer.