08/01/2014 News
Admiral Insurance backs scheme to get young drivers learning pre-17
- Company takes title sponsorship of YOUNG DRIVER™ and offers discounts to pupils
- YOUNG DRIVER™ lesson sales up 35% year on year as parents see benefit of early driver tuition
With the government’s long-awaited Green Paper on young driver safety due any day, the insurance company Admiral has given its backing to the UK’s largest young driver education programme, which offers lessons to 11-17 year olds.
Although it has supported YOUNG DRIVER™ since it started in October 2009, Admiral has just announced that it is to take over from SEAT as title sponsor of the programme, which is proven to reduce the accident rates of newly qualified drivers.
This comes on the back of a 35 per cent increase in YOUNG DRIVER™ lesson sales in 2013 compared to the previous year, with 125,000 lessons now delivered since the programme started.
Youngsters who have taken one or more lessons with the YOUNG DRIVER™ scheme will also now receive a five per cent discount on their Admiral car insurance premium, which could save youngsters an average of £135*.
One in five newly qualified drivers crashes their car within six months of passing their test, rising to a staggering 40 per cent of 17-year old males. This has led to an increase in car insurance costs for young people, and the average 17-year old can now expect to pay an average of around £2,702 a year*. Research has shown that youngsters who have lessons with YOUNG DRIVER™ before the age of 17 are half as likely to have an accident once they pass their test.
YOUNG DRIVER™ offers those over the age of 11 the chance to drive a dual-controlled SKODA Citigo car in a safe but realistic environment and with a highly qualified CRB-checked driving instructor. Youngsters are encouraged to consider responsible driving and to take their time learning, rather than rushing to pass a test. The scheme is the largest of its kind in the country and has a nationwide network of 33 driver training centres in England, Scotland and Wales.
Joby Russell, Director of Marketing at Admiral said: “We have been working with YOUNG DRIVER™ for some time now to monitor the effect the early driver tuition it provides has in terms of creating safer drivers. The results are very impressive and we feel confident that youngsters who have taken these lessons will be safer on the roads, leading to a reduction in the number of accidents. With extended education working in tandem with other Admiral initiatives, such as our LittleBox telematics technology, we can really help youngsters to become safer drivers.”
Kim Stanton, director at YOUNG DRIVER™, said: “This support from leading UK insurance provider Admiral is evidence that extended driver education is proven to create safer drivers and that it has a very real impact on the accident rate of newly qualified drivers. Only eight per cent of drivers are aged 17 – 24 and yet they account for 30 per cent of people who are killed in cars every year. Something needs to be done.
“At YOUNG DRIVER™, we strongly believe it is vital to train drivers over a longer period of time and that catching youngsters when their attitudes towards driving are still developing is the key to producing a safer driver. Once they hit 17, for many it’s about passing their test as quickly as possible. When passing their test is still five years away, they can focus more on the responsibility of being behind the wheel.”
For more information about YOUNG DRIVER™ visitwww.youngdriver.eu or call 0844 371 9010. For more information about Admiral visit www.admiral.co.uk
*Source: Based on the average car insurance premium for 17 year olds in the Towers Watson and Confused.com price index (£2,702).
YOUNG DRIVER™ was established in 2009 with the aim of helping to teach youngsters to drive over a longer period, therefore encouraging a safer generation of new drivers at 17.
Anyone over the age of 11 and above 1.4 metres tall can get behind the wheel of a brand new dual control SKODA Citigo car with a fully qualified ADI driving instructor. Lessons take place on private property which has been developed into a realistic road system complete with road signs, junctions and car parks. A Drive Diary is kept to monitor progress.
125,000 youngsters have now been through the YOUNG DRIVER™ experience and there are 33 venues to choose from across the UK with 5 more due to open this March.
For more information log on to www.youngdriver.eu or call 0844 371 9010