ABD criticises road safety measures
Date: 31 August 2007
Education and not "brainwashing" is the message from the Association of British Drivers (ABD) today, as it renews its call for the government to review and amend the way it tackles road safety.
Responding to proposals made by the Commons transport select committee to tackle the issue of young driver crashes, the ABD urged committee members to move away from a focus on "speed and speed cameras".
"These young people, who have never known anything but 'speed kills' brainwashing, are killing themselves and others in ever greater numbers - a terrible indictment of a policy that criminalises safe behaviour and fails to target the real causes of collisions," said ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries.
An increasing number of crashes has prompted the debate - government figures reveal that almost 1,300 people were killed in accidents involving drivers aged between 15 and 25 in 2005. But the ABD has seized upon the issue to reiterate its opposition to penalty-based strategies.
"This is happening because blanket speed reduction policy has prevented young drivers from acquiring key survival skills whilst camera enforcement of under-posted limits has made road safety look ridiculous," Mr Humphries added.
It is believed that the committee is considering introducing a compulsory 12-month training period before new drivers may obtain their license. This would in effect raise the minimum age for getting behind the wheel to 18.
The proposals were broadly welcomed by the Association of British Insurers' Nick Starling, who said: "The committee's recommendations are what we have been calling for: of a minimum learning period, a structured learning programme and restrictions on newly qualified drivers carrying young passengers."
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