Danger of 'thrill-seeking' male drivers

Posted :24-10-2005

Some young men's "cavalier" attitude to driving and road safety – especially when drunk and at night – is causing more accidents on the nation's roads, according to a new report from the AA.

The AA Motoring Trust has found that many young men between the ages of 17 and 25 test their cars to the limit on the roads, some feeling it was acceptable to drive drunk, others believing it was safer to speed in the dark.

"There's nobody coming the other way, you'd be able to see the lights," one interviewee claimed in a focus group.

Another said: "It's different when you're drunk, you don't really care when you're driving."

AA Motoring Trust road safety head Andrew Howard said: "Inexperienced driving, a cavalier attitude to life, a night-time social life involving alcohol, and driving too fast, are combining to kill and maim young people and other road users every night of the week."

The trust's survey found that males drivers aged between 17 and 20 had 17 times the risk of accidents between 2am and 5am than all male drivers.

However, young female drivers are not exempt from the damning report, with figures showing women drivers between the ages of 17 and 20 have almost three times the risk of all female drivers, whatever the time of day.

Mr Howard also said that young women often accepted lifts home from young men late at night, putting themselves at risk from bad driving.

"We must address young men's worrying lack of understanding about driving risks at night, and a tolerance of drink-driving, bad behaviour and overloading in cars," he said.


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