As the UK’s leading professional association for driver and rider trainers, and a recognised expert in learning to drive or ride, we are regularly approached for comment by the media and by brands writing advisory features for their customer base or to generate PR, for example insurers. This week, we were asked by a major insurance comparison engine to answer a series of questions on tackling test shortages. One question in particular revved DIA CEO Carly up to some degree, especially in the context of the ‘cost’ of keeping fully prepared for test and for independent driving post-test.
When asked the following question, as well as offering practical advice from our professional driver training team, Carly also used the opportunity to get the ‘investment case’ across for continuing professional training.
How can learners continue improving without overspending on additional lessons?
Rather than see taking extra lessons as an ‘overspend’, think about extra training as an investment in your driving skill, safety and competency. When you pass your test and drive independently, your risk exponentially increases as a new driver. The more you can do to develop your skills and experience on-road, with a professional trainer combined with private practice, before test, the better prepared you are for driving solo and the risks that carries to you and other drivers.
And the real cost of not being sufficiently prepared for solo driving? Roughly 20% to 22% of new drivers are involved in an accident during their first year on the road. The financial impact includes immediate out-of-pocket repair costs, high policy excesses and subsequent premium spikes, with first-year baseline insurance costs already averaging over £1,200 to £2,200 before any claims are filed. Then there’s the cost of vehicle repairs for small bumps and scrapes caused by inexperience, as well as wear and tear on your vehicle due to, again, inexperience and underdeveloped skills in eco-efficient driving.
Add to that the risk and cost of motoring enforcement. Under the UK’s Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act, newly qualified drivers face a probationary two-year period. If they accumulate 6 or more penalty points rather than the standard 12, their licence is automatically revoked. Historically, around 5,400 to 7,800 newly qualified drivers lose their licences annually under these stricter rules. Recent research by insurer Marmalade shows that there are currently 16,949 young drivers aged 17-25 who are at risk of losing their driving licence from just one more motoring offence.
And with loss of licence being the ultimate cost, even standard minimum fixed penalties for common motoring offences hit the wallet hard for a young driver. For example, minor speeding can result in a £100 fine, rising to £200 for mobile phone use and £300 for no insurance. Court-administered fines can scale up to 175% of a driver’s weekly income, or up to 700% for extreme cases, capped at £1,000 on regular roads or £2,500 on motorways.
And the worst cost of not being sufficiently prepared for independent driving is the risk to yourself or other road users around you, in terms of injury or threat to life from being involved in a serious accident.
Therefore, see continuing to engage in training with a professional, licensed driver trainer pre- and post-test as an investment rather than an overspend!
DIA takes every opportunity it can to promote professional driver and rider training to the public, and as an experienced media operator and PR professional, Carly uses her frequent appearances in the media to promote our working members’ value. However, this autumn we’ll be increasing our efforts in this space and directly investing in campaigns of this nature. We’ll shortly be asking members to join a focus group to help develop the messaging for these campaigns, so watch this space for that invite.
One Response
WE need to bring in an on-line logbook now so a candidate has to be signed off before taking the driving test. It must have notes and not just tick the box which will make things worse. Things like inconsistency are important. Real world driving and learning how to drive are still a little different to what the DVSA and government minister perceive them to be. They assume that people have better skills than they really have and don’t understand many of their problems.