Abstract
It is virtually a universal observation that young drivers are over- represented in road traffic accident statistics.It has particularly important implications for a country like the Republic of Ireland which has a relatively high proportion of young people. It is argued that a major reason for the overrepresentation of young drivers in road traffic accidents is lack of experience. Paradoxically accidents may be the price paid for acquiring that experience. From a behavioral perspective, the difficulty for the inexperienced driver is inadequate exposure to the relationships between antecedents, behaviour and its consequences in the highway environment.