Young drivers see 3 times higher casualty risk in road mishaps

Young drivers’ risk of death is still three times higher than that of the population as a whole, said the National Police Board in a press release on Tuesday.

During the first eight months of this year, 20 young people under the age of 25 lost their lives on the road, this accounts for 18% of all fatalities.

The number of fatal accidents caused by young drivers, however, decreased compared to last year.

“Too high or inappropriate speed is a contributing factor in around a third of fatal road accidents,” said Chief Superintendent of the National Police Board Heikki Kallio.

Accidents at high speeds cause far more damage than accidents at lower speeds.

“Causing a serious traffic hazard typically involves excessive speeding (more than 50 km/h over the permitted speed). Every year, the police record some two thousand young drivers aged 17-24 as suspects in causing a serious traffic hazard,” Kallio added.

Young people account for almost half (45%) of all suspects recorded in these offences. Both overall and among young people, men account for up to 90% of suspects in incidents causing a serious traffic hazard.

Accidents involving young drivers are often due to inappropriate speed.

The police will monitor young people’s traffic behaviour over the weekend of 6-8 October. The focus will be on detecting excessive speeds and young people’s traffic behaviour and any meetups and rallies.

The police will specifically monitor these aspects in young people’s traffic behaviour because of the disproportionately high number of people aged 15-24 involved in road accidents.

Most fatal accidents caused by young people occur particularly on Friday nights and almost as often on Saturday nights.