ACC says Safer Journeys strategy could reduce claims from road crashes

“We’re really supportive of the plans within the strategy and think that they will have a positive effect on the numbers of people being hurt on our roads,” says Simon Gianotti, ACC Injury Prevention Team Manager.

Last year ACC spent over $450 million to treat, rehabilitate and compensate people injured on the roads, and over $52 million of that was spent on crashes involving fifteen to nineteen year-old drivers. “We’ve been looking at the area of young drivers for a long time, and even though this group only makes up 7% of licensed drivers, they are involved in 16% of injury crashes and 13% of fatal crashes.

Every year around 20 teenage drivers die on our roads, with a further 1,400 seriously injured. Raising the driving age to sixteen, as proposed in the strategy, could potentially reduce these figures,” says Mr Gianotti.

ACC has recognised the issues that face young drivers and has worked with NZTA since 2003 to deliver the Practice programme. “A lot of the crashes involving young drivers are a result of lack of experience behind the wheel. Research shows us that a learner driver with 120 hours of supervised driving practice under their belt is 40% less likely to have a crash when they start driving alone.“

‘Practice’ is a practical driving programme designed for young drivers who already have their learner licence and the people who are teaching them to drive. It helps new drivers pass their restricted test by becoming more safe and competent drivers. It also helps the people who are guiding them through the process of learning to drive by providing tips on how to explain everything from ‘starting off’ to ‘driving at night’.

ACC says that young drivers should be practicing in all possible conditions, including wet weather and at night. Driving down to the shops and back each day is not enough. Learning skills such as suitable braking, driving on multi-lane roads and overtaking safely can also be invaluable. The Practice driving manual can help identify what things to teach young drivers. 120 hours may seem a lot but over a year it works out at just over two hours a week. For more information go to www.practice.co.nz.

ENDS

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