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Young drivers are greatly over-represented in overall road safety fatalities. While overall road fatalities are decreasing gradually in most OECD countries, young driver fatalities remain particularly high. At the same time, overall fatalities are increasing in a number of ECMT countries particularly in Eastern Europe -- and likely young driver fatalities as well. Research indicates that levels of young driver fatalities will need to be significantly reduced if the fatality reduction targets set by ECMT Ministers ( -50% by 2012) are going to be achieved.

It is estimated that over 9,000 young drivers of passenger vehicles were killed in OECD countries in 2003, where death rates for young drivers are typically more than double those of other drivers, and traffic accidents were the greatest single cause of death among 15-24 year-olds. [As the accompanying graph shows -- requested by DSA], young drivers can account for between 20 and 30% of all driver deaths in OECD members, although people in the same age groups may only represent between 9 and 13% of the population. Furthermore, Dutch research for the period 1999-2003 estimated that, in the Netherlands, for each young driver killed, on average 1.3 passengers and other persons also died. With such a multiplier effect, young driver crashes could account for at least 25% of total road fatalities in many countries. As well as age and experience, gender has an important influence on risks; death rates for young male drivers are consistently much higher than those of their female counterparts, often by a factor of three.

The Joint OECD/ECMT Transport Research Centre’s project on Young Driver Risk and Effective Countermeasures is being undertaken by a working group of experts from member countries. The focus is on the causes of young driver risk, best practices in countermeasures, and areas for further improvements. The solutions will likely involve education, training, licensing, enforcement, publicity and the selective use of technology. The working group will publish its findings in 2006.

Source: ECMT

Footnote 

     The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is an intergovernmental organisation for Transport Ministers in European countries. 

     There are 43 full Member countries of the ECMT: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. 

     There are seven Associate Member countries of the ECMT: Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States, and one Observer country -- Morocco.