Safe Drivers are made not born

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Young drivers - where and when they are unsafe report by the IAM motoring trust; notes with dismay the number of young people killed and seriously injured on Scotland's roads in the last five years, including nearly 100 people aged 17 to 25 in the Grampian area alone; further notes the 10 key recommendations of the IAM report, and believes that schools, young people, road agencies and local and national authorities should work together in order to introduce these measures and improve road safety for all our young drivers.

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): I am pleased that my motion has been selected for debate this evening, and I thank all those who have already supported it.

Sadly, everyone in the chamber will know of constituents whose families have been devastated by the loss of a young person in a car accident. The number of young people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads is shocking. The stark accident statistics, of course, hide the real and lasting impact that such a loss has on family and friends.

The overall rates of accidents are coming down, with the number of road deaths in Britain below 3,000 in 2007, making our roads among the safest in the world. However, that success is overshadowed by the fact that young drivers are not getting any safer. Road crashes are the single biggest killer of 15 to 24-year-olds in industrial countries. In 2006, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development concluded that

"the high crash fatality and injury rates of young, male novice drivers represent a major public health issue."

The research that was done by Jean Hopkin for the Institute of Advanced Motorists is comprehensive and makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of where and when young drivers are unsafe. She analysed almost 250,000 crashes in which people were killed or seriously injured between 2000 and 2006. Her work is published in the report "Safe drivers are made, not born", which contains practical recommendations for local authorities and Government to implement. There is a 10-point package of actions to make younger drivers safer, which includes practical and effective steps that could be taken now to reduce the number of fatalities.

The debate is set against the background of Department for Transport proposals to make changes to the driving test. The consultation has closed and we expect to see the Westminster Government's proposals in the spring. We also await the publication of the Scottish Government's road safety strategy. The consultation on that closed in April, with a stated intention that the final document would be published in the autumn. However, we are still waiting for it. Perhaps in responding to the debate, the minister will advise us when that will be published.

I am sure that the Governments here and in Westminster are actively considering road safety, but we can afford to wait no longer. Recommendations in the Institute of Advanced Motorists action plan can be implemented now by the Scottish Government and I hope that there is cross-party agreement that that should happen.

For example, the institute suggests encouraging more understanding of driving in a wider range of road conditions in which novice drivers are most at risk, such as driving at night, in poor visibility and on rural roads. It suggests that we prepare learner drivers better for driving solo or with passengers by making them more aware of where and when they are likely to crash. The institute recommends integrating road safety education into the core school curriculum subjects so that young people develop a self-taught awareness of the risks and responsibilities of using roads as drivers, riders and passengers. It also recommends that we guide parents and carers to help children to become safer drivers through additional supervised driving practice in the family car.

I will focus on where young people are likely to crash; I am sure that other members will pick up on other recommendations in the report. The message that young drivers are at particular risk when driving on rural roads has come through loud and clear not only from the research but-sadly-from the coverage in my daily newspaper, The Press and Journal, which I commend for its campaigning stance on road safety. It has in the past convened a road safety summit and most recently offered a young driver of the year award.

The research found that young drivers

"tend to over-estimate their driving ability and under-estimate the demands of the driving task, driving too close to the point where they are likely to lose control of the vehicle".

I note that that trait is

"far less prevalent in young women drivers".

On rural roads, the most common accident to involve young males is a single-vehicle crash in

which the car leaves the road. More than a third of young drivers in killed or serious injury crashes skid or overturn. The research suggests that speed, judgment and poor vehicle control skills are particular issues. That is not surprising when we consider that most people learn to drive in towns and cities. Little, if any, time is spent on rural roads, yet we know that rural driving is some of the most demanding driving, especially when it is coupled with other hazards, such as bad weather or poor visibility.

In the light of those findings, we urgently need to direct our efforts to working with young male novice drivers to increase their understanding and experience of rural road driving. Of course, good examples of road safety initiatives exist throughout the country. In my region, Aberdeenshire Council supports the pass plus young drivers scheme by contributing a £45 grant, and a further £100 contribution to the cost is available from community safety groups. The uptake of those grants has been quite good.

Grampian Police runs its driving ambition scheme for sixth-year pupils in all Aberdeenshire schools and holds weekend events for those who leave school before sixth year. The community safety campaign safe drive stay alive is delivered throughout Grampian and reaches about 5,000 fifth-year pupils every year. Those events are open to college students and to any youngsters who leave school before fifth year.

I would like those local initiatives to be backed by a concerted and sustained national effort. I stress that I do not wish to demonise young drivers. I agree with Ms Hopkin's conclusion that

"While young drivers are a high risk group in themselves, most young drivers are not deliberately unsafe".

That is precisely why driver training and more driving practice before solo driving are really important. We let down our young people by not ensuring that they are equipped to deal with the demands of rural driving. Preparing our young people to be safer drivers must be our number 1 road safety priority. It would be a great investment. I would like the Government to work closely with schools, young people, their parents and carers, local authorities and driving instructors to develop a programme of continuing driver education. Passing the driving test should be just the start of a process, not the end. Safe drivers are made, not born.