Insurer trials 'T' plates as half of young drivers feel pressured into speeding by other motorists

Young motorists feel pressured into unsafe driving by other road users, with four out of five having been the victim of aggressive or dangerous driving from other people.

A new study found that half of drivers aged 17-25 felt pressured into speeding and a quarter didn’t feel safe while driving due to other motorists’ behaviour. The findings have prompted one supplier of telematics insurance to launch new T plates informing other drivers that a car is fitting with a black box tracking its drivers' behaviour.

Young drivers said they had experienced everything from rude gestures and swearing to tailgating and being cut up, making them nervous on the road. And the study found a third of older drivers admitted they weren’t mindful of other road users.

The research by Co-op Insurance asked 24,000 drivers aged 17-25 about their experiences since passing their test, as well as questioning 4,000 older drivers about their attitudes and behaviour.

A shocking 80 per cent of young drivers said they had experienced other vehicles driving too close to them - known as tailgating - and 72 per cent had experienced another driver overtaking them when it wasn’t safe to do so. Fifty-three per cent said they had felt under pressure to speed and 28 per cent said they had been shouted at by other drivers. One in five said they had felt pressured to pull out of a junction when they didn’t feel it was safe to do so.

A third of older drivers openly admitted not considering other road users and more than half said they had previously driven too close to a car in front, with 39 per cent saying they did so because the other car was driving too slowly.

The findings have prompted Co-op Insurance to urge motorists to be more patient around new drivers and to trial the T plates as a new approach for drivers with black box insurance policies.

A growing number of young drivers are turning to telematics or black box insurance policies, which track their behaviour and can penalise them for bad driving, meaning they are reluctant to give into pressure from other drivers.

In response to the results of its study, Co-op Insurance is piloting the new scheme so drivers who use telematics can alert other drivers via a “T” plate on their car.

The plates feature a large blue T in the same style as the traditional red L learner plates and green P plates used by some newly qualified drivers.

Charles Offord, managing director of Co-op Insurance commented: “It’s unacceptable that so many young drivers are feeling pressured by others on the roads. Ultimately, every driver should be adhering to speed limits and driving in line with the law, but we know that isn’t always the case.

“Instead of being role models, too many older drivers are exacerbating what is already a testing time for new and less-experienced road users.

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