Driving at night is fun, isn't it?

Well, plenty, to be realistic. The accident rate for young people who have just passed a driving test is pretty awful to start with, with around one in five of them statistically likely to have an accident within six months but at weekends and in particular between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. the accident rate rockets. Moreover, when the driver has passengers the risk of an accident involving serious injuries or even multiple deaths increases dramatically, particularly when the driver is male. Are you sure you want to go out tonight?

According to companies like Direct Line Insurance the reasons for this are many and varied but they boil down to two major problems; like experience and overconfidence. The fact is that there are innumerable circumstances which can cause accidents that crop up constantly on the roads and if the driver is to avoid catastrophe he or she usually has to act instinctively, and not have to stop to think, by which time the worst has usually happened but sadly most young drivers have very little experience of driving so have not developed those instantaneous reflexes that older and more experienced people take for granted. This problem pales into insignificance however with the major problem; testosterone. Young people enjoy taking risks and whilst this is a very useful characteristic at the right times it can be an absolute killer on the roads. Young drivers tend to drive more quickly than those in other age groups, partly because they enjoy it and partly because they have not experienced problems with imperfect road conditions, bad weather or just simple poor driving on the part of other road users. Add to this makes the tendency for youngsters to show off if they have a few passengers in their car and you have a potentially lethal mixture particularly if they are having a laugh and joke together which can be very distracting and lead to a loss of concentration. The result is that hundreds of drivers and passengers under the age of 21 die on our roads every year and thousands are seriously injured. Public liability insurance has never been so important.

We haven't even mentioned two other factors; drink and drugs. Around twice as many drivers under the age of 20 fail a breathalyser test than those over the age of 40; the proportion of drivers found with drugs in their system is many times higher and both of these create greatly increased risk because they not only reduce reaction times but also make the driver more overconfident; since youngsters tend to pick things up more quickly than adults many of them feel that because they have managed to pass a driving test they are able to drive perfectly safely with a pint or two of strong lager or a puff of something more exotic but nothing could be further from the truth!

Many young drivers are absolutely shocked when they find out just how expensive it is for them to take out car insurance (hence the popularity of 'no deposit car insurance' schemes for the young); It is hardly any wonder that young drivers are more likely to go for temporary car insurance rather than take out very expensive yearly policies. If you're in this situation you could buy some from www.insuranceshortterm.co.uk. Insurance companies however have to take a realistic attitude towards the risks that they take on, and with young drivers under the age of 20 these can be very considerable. And if you think your insurance quotes I already, just think what they would be if you were to be caught drinking and driving, or had a serious accident resulting in injury or even death to other people!