Are young drivers ready for the road? Research reveals common traffic offences

Pushing the limits — New research reveals speeding as the most common traffic offence by young drivers in the UK

• 4 in 10 traffic offences committed by young drivers are for speeding, making it the most common traffic offence amongst 16-25-year-olds
• Driving a vehicle without insurance accounts for over a third of driving offences for new drivers aged 16
• For Brits aged 18-19, driving with a drug level above the specified limit is the fifth most common offence

Bexhill-on-Sea, 2nd August — New research by insurance company Hastings Direct reveals insight into the driving habits of young drivers, while also shedding light on the top common driving offences in the UK. Data from between 01/01/2020 and 31/12/2021 analysing over 300,000 offences based on FOI from the DVLA, reveals the most common traffic offences committed by young people in the UK aged 16-25.

Top 10 most common traffic offences for young Brits (16-25-year-olds)

The data below shows the top ten offences that younger drivers are most guilty of and the total number of offences for this age group between the dates 01/01/2020 and 31/12/2021.

1. Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road (128,677 offences)
2. Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks (56,789 offences)
3. Exceeding speed limit on a motorway (33,055 offences)
4. Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence (30,658 offences)
5. Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit (12,068 offences)
6. Failure to give information as to identity of driver etc (11,631 offences)
7. Driving or attempting to drive with drug level above the specified limit (10,529 offences)
8. Driving without due care and attention (6,426 offences)
9. Driving while disqualified by order of court (5,228 offences)
10. Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s) (4,420 offences)

40% of driving offences by young people are related to speeding

The data shows that young drivers make the mistake of driving too fast both on public roads and motorways, with each of these offences appearing in the ten most common traffic offences for young Brits. Exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road (1) accounts for almost 40% of the top traffic offences for those aged 16-25, making it the most common offence by far. Combined with motorway speeding (3), the research shows that half of all driving offences by this age group are due to driving too fast.

Drug and alcohol-related traffic offences amongst the most common for young Brits

The top ten traffic offences resulting from the new research reveal that speed is not the only limit young drivers seem willing to push, with drunk driving and driving with drug levels above the limit accounting for almost 7% of the most common traffic offences. That’s almost 23,000 incidents relating to alcohol or drugs in 2020 & 2021.

Borrowing a car without insurance catches out close to 57,000 young drivers

However, those two offences combined (5 & 7) don’t come close to the second most common offence of using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks. There were 56,789 of these offences by young drivers in 2020 & 2021 – that’s more than double the offences relating to alcohol and drug levels.

Over 30,000 young drivers caught without a licence

The data shows almost 1 in 10 young drivers are too impatient to hit the roads, with driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence (4) highlighted as another common offence. This issue is particularly prevalent amongst the younger age groups, accounting for 36.02% of offences for drivers aged 16, becoming less of an issue for those aged 25 (6.87%).

Observation skills are vital to driving test success

The study also looked at gov.uk for mistakes drivers make during their driving test. Inadequate observations at junctions is the number one fault that learner drivers make during their tests, followed closely by incorrect use of mirrors. This relates closely to the 8th most common traffic offence – driving without due care and attention – which accounted for over 6,000 of the traffic offences analysed.

For more information about the study, please visit: 

https://www.hastingsdirect.com/car-insurance/17-25-car-insurance/most-common-traffic-offences.shtml