Commissioned by the Scottish Government in November 2010 the national debate on young driver issues undertaken across Scotland involved young people (defined for this purpose as those aged between 17 and 25), their parents and carers, representatives from the road safety community, the motor insurance industry and other members of the public. It was undertaken to meet a commitment in Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to: “Conduct a public debate on young driver issues including graduated licences and additional training.” The debate builds on qualitative research commissioned by the Scottish Government which found that young people (aged 16 to 25 years) were open to gaining more driving experience after passing their Driving Standards Agency (DSA) test through participation in Pass Plus or similar, but viewed restrictions on young drivers as discriminatory. However, in response to the consultation document published by the Scottish Government to inform the Road Safety Framework, restrictions for newly qualified drivers were mentioned as a key intervention in some responses. The aims and objectives for undertaking the debate were to: Identify potential solutions for improving young driver safety, and identify case study examples from Scotland and elsewhere Explore issues relating to young drivers, which may determine the effectiveness of potential solutions Determine the level of support for potential solutions from young people, parents and guardians, and the road safety community, and identify reasons for various levels of interest, and Assess proposals against appropriate criteria and to provide recommendations. This paper reports on the findings of a report prepared by Atkins and Professor Stephen Stradling, National Debate on Young Drivers’ Safety (March 2011). It provides a summary of the key facts and figures relating to young driver casualties; describes the various approaches taken to conduct the national debate; summarises the type of interventions considered; and presents recommendations for reducing young driver casualties in Scotland. (Author/publisher)
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