The rise of fatal accidents with young drivers further emphasises them as a group with higher risk of injury. Transportation is currently the second largest contributor to injury in Australia and there are two spikes in hospitalisation due to injury: one between the ages of 15 and 25 and the other with those over 70.
A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that the rise in fatal accidents with young drivers had risen to 223 deaths in 2015. The article identifies the risk behaviours associate with the rise in fatal accidents with young drivers:
Statistics show young men die at nearly twice the rate of young women. And young drivers are more likely to die or be injured in serious accidents late at night, at weekend, when they are driving for recreation and and when they are driving in groups. In NSW, drivers under 25 on red Ps (P1) can only carry one passenger between 11 pm to 5am. [1]
The NSW Government has already introduced many laws to try and crack down on many of these risk factors. Young drivers have 3 years of P-Plate driving, are restricted in the number of passengers in their car at night, and can have their car confiscated if caught driving recklessly over the speed limit.
Now in addition to this, the NSW Government is bringing in a law to ban the use of mobile phones within cars for P-Plate drivers. This include hands free and GPS navigation. However, given that the majority of infringements from young drivers is a breach of road rules, are mobile phones what should be targeted, especially considering we already have laws in place around their use while driving.
The rise in fatal accidents with young drivers is definitely a concern for NSW health, and something needs to be done about it. Young drivers need to decide that driving is dangerous, and not just know it.
As a further activity, compare this article with the statistics presented by NSW Road Safety.
[1] Julie Power, Crackdown on P-platers: New driver restrictions after spike in fatal accidents, Sydney Morning Herald
