A major road safety campaign is urging young British drivers to completely avoid getting behind the wheel during night-time hours in a bid to reduce rising casualty figures.
The Night-Time Driving Ban
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued stark guidance recommending that drivers aged between 17 and 24 should not drive between 11pm and 6am. This forms part of their 'Top 3' campaign, which targets the highest risks facing inexperienced motorists.
The initiative, run in partnership with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), also suggests that new drivers should be limited to carrying just one passenger of a similar age for the first three to six months after passing their test.
Why Young Drivers Are At Risk
Annabelle Priest, road safety lead at Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, explained the biological reasoning behind the campaign. "Young people are in the most at risk age category on our roads due to their age and their inexperience," she stated.
"Until you are 25, your prefrontal cortex (PFC) is not fully developed. This is the part of your brain which enables you to risk assess what you are doing and plan ahead," Ms Priest added. "It makes young people a little bit more inclined to be impulsive, and that's where we see some problems."
Real Experiences and Government Response
Twenty-year-old Ella Hancock from Stokeinteignhead, Devon, shared her concerning experiences as a passenger: "There's been a couple of incidents when someone has been giving me a lift home after a night out and I have said 'can you please slow down, can you look at the road'."
A mother named Claire expressed particular concern about her 18-year-old son: "I'm not as worried when they are driving, it's when they get in with other friends. We have a lot of chats about who he is getting in with."
While the Department for Transport acknowledged that young people are disproportionately victims of road tragedies, a spokesperson confirmed: "Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign."
The department is considering additional measures as part of its upcoming road safety strategy - the first such comprehensive review in over a decade.
