Research highlights driver confusion
New research from Insure the Box suggests just 12% of 17 to 29 year olds think they should stop if they are involved in an accident where there is damage or injury to another party.
Furthermore, only 12% of 17 to 29 year olds think they should share their insurance details with anyone else, despite the fact that over 90% said they do keep details of their own insurer in their car.
In the case of a minor accident, where no one is hurt, only 14% of younger drivers said they should get the name, address and insurance details of the other driver before they leave the scene. Yet this could make it difficult to make a claim against the third party if the driver was not at fault.
‘It’s worrying to see the level of confusion among younger drivers about what to do if they have an accident’, said Simon Rewell, road safety manager for Insure The Box.
‘Knowing what to do in case of an accident is a key part of learning to drive, but it seems that this important information might be being forgotten very quickly after young motorists have taken off the L-plates. Twelve per cent of respondents to our research did not know that it is a legal requirement to stop if they damage something or injure someone else in a collision.
‘What was more encouraging to see, was that 93% of those surveyed would use their phone to take pictures of any damage and the position of the vehicle, highlighting the value of new technology for this generation of drivers.’
Insure The Box has dealt with over 100,000 Accident Alerts since its launch in 2009 and in 2016 emergency services were called on average 16 times a month in response to an Accident Alert.
