September 2007

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North-east young night time drivers at double the risk of death

Nearly one in five (18 per cent) young people in the North East have been in, or know someone who has been in, an accident at night in the last three years1
MORE TH>N partners with Wise Drive – a multi-agency education initiative launched today aimed at tackling young drivers in the North East
MORE TH>N has also launched an insurance policy – DriveTime – designed to take young drivers off the roads at the most dangerous times of the night.

Nearly one in five (18 per cent) of young people in the North East have been in, or know someone who has been in, an accident at night in the last three years, according to research from leading car insurer MORE TH>N.

In a move aimed at reducing accidents involving young drivers, MORE TH>N is partnering with Wise Drive, an education initiative run by Durham Constabulary which launches today at police headquarters in Durham and which aims to educate budding teenage motorists.

Young driver safety is a high priority for MORE TH>N. The insurer also launched a policy last year called DriveTime which is designed to encourage drivers aged between 18 and 25 not to drive at night, when the chances of them being in a car crash are highest. There are nearly 170,000 young drivers in the North East who stand to benefit from the innovative policy2.

DriveTime uses an in-car telematics system to track at what time of the day or night the vehicle is being driven. Drivers pay a reduced fee to insure their cars, 40 per cent off MORE TH>N’s standard prices. To encourage them to leave their vehicles at home during the most dangerous hours on the road (between 11.00pm and 06.00am) an additional fee of £25 is applied if the car is driven during these hours.

40 per cent of all UK accidents between 11.00pm and 06.00am involving young drivers result in death or serious injury, compared to 20 per cent at all other times, yet more than one in ten (11 per cent) of young drivers in the North East surveyed by MORE TH>N actually feel safer driving at night. By reducing the number of young drivers on the road at night, MORE TH>N estimates that DriveTime could help reduce accident rates among 18 to 25 year olds in the North East by up to 25 per cent.

PC Dave Nixon, Durham Constabulary’s road casualty reduction officer, said: “The whole purpose of Wise Drive is to educate young people and prevent them becoming casualty statistics in the future. Much of what they see and hear is very sobering and we know from the feedback we get each year the messages really strike home.”

Mike Holliday-Williams, managing director of MORE TH>N, said: “We’re delighted to be a partner of the education initiative Wise Drive today. We at MORE TH>N believe that more needs to be done to help young drivers stay safe on the roads, and our DriveTime scheme really reflects this. It’s the only policy of its kind to take young drivers off the roads at the most dangerous times of night. It can also save them a significant amount off their insurance costs too.”

MORE TH>N’s research also reveals that over a fifth (21 per cent) of young people in the North East find their car a significant drain on their finances. The average cost of running a new car in the UK represents 40 per cent of their annual income, compared to 20 per cent for the average motorist3. To help safe young drivers manage their budgets better, DriveTime rewards them by cutting MORE TH>N’s standard insurance prices by 40 per cent.

Drivers who sign up for MORE TH>N’s DriveTime product receive a GPS device (DriveTime unit) that will be delivered and installed in their vehicle free of charge. Once installed, whenever the car starts, a message is sent to MORE TH>N advising the time and place that the journey commenced. A further message is sent when the engine is switched off to confirm that the journey has ended.

MORE TH>N’s DriveTime scheme is running as a pilot, initially involving 2,000 vehicles. Anyone interested in taking part in the DriveTime pilot should call MORE TH>N on 0800 294 8911, email drivetime@morethan.com or visit www.morethan.com/drivetime.

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