New road safety campaign targets young male drivers on rural roads

A new road safety campaign has been launched by THINK! to highlight the dangers of driving too fast for road conditions.

The new THINK! campaign, “Is pushing it worth it?” is targeted at young male drivers, as statistics show male drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than drivers aged 25 or over.

Research findings also show that 60% of all serious and fatal collisions involving young male car drivers were on rural roads.

Safety experts raise further concerns as less than half (43%) of young men consider exceeding the speed limit to be unacceptable, while over two thirds (68%) see drink driving as unacceptable and over half (52%) think using a mobile without handsfree is unacceptable.

Road Safety Minister Richard Holden said: “Road safety is our priority, but we want to accelerate our efforts to tackle unsafe driving habits and create some of the safest roads in the world.

“We’re highlighting the dangers of relaxed driving attitudes on rural roads so that everyone recognises that pushing the speed limit is just not worth it.”

Speeding accounts for around one in four fatal collisions, but despite this it’s considered one of the least risky and most acceptable behaviours among drivers, especially young men. The campaign highlights that speed kills and injuries 54 young people every week in the UK.

Dr Gemma Briggs, Professor of Applied Cognitive Psychology at the Open University, said: “Most drivers consider themselves to be ‘better than average’ at driving. This can make drivers feel that while others shouldn’t speed, their own increased skill means they can handle a bit of extra speed, and every journey completed seemingly without incident for a speeding driver confirms to them that their behaviour is acceptable, even if they endanger others.

“Young drivers also have these biases, but have the added problem of a lack of driving experience. They can’t rely on their previous experience to understand driving situations, so adding other elements to this such as additional speed increases the likelihood of young drivers failing to notice hazards and being involved in a collision.”

THINK! research shows young males underestimate the risks of driving just a few miles per hour over the right speed for the road conditions. The campaign seeks to challenge overconfidence among younger drivers and highlight that while excessive speeding is an issue, it is equally important to not go slightly over the speed limit or drive too fast for the road.

The campaign comes as part of a wide range of safety initiatives, including the recent research project ‘Driver2020’ which considers the different ways to make young drivers safer, more confident and more skilful in their first year of driving.