Fewer young drivers than ever recorded

There are fewer young people driving now than ever recorded.

According to data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), there are currently just 2.97 million people aged 16-25 who hold a full driving licence in Britain, down from 3.32 million in March 2020.

This is the lowest number of young people on the roads since records began in November 2012 when there were 3.42 million drivers aged 25 and under.

The decline in young drivers is more severe than the decline in the number of young people in Britain, however it is believed this is because of a number of recent hurdles facing young people rather than a diminished appetite for driving.

A Department for Transport survey in 2019 found the most common reasons for 17 to 20-year-olds in England not learning to drive were the cost of lessons (41%), buying a car (31%) and insuring it (30%).

Fewer than one in five (19%) respondents said they were not interested in driving, while just 12% said the availability of other forms of transport was why they hadn’t decided to learn.

Director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding, said: “Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this fall in the number of full licence holders aged 25 and under in a year where the Covid-19 pandemic increased financial pressures for many, meant driving lessons and driving tests had to be suspended, and resulted in more young people being locked down in their family home.”