A learner driver has been quoted a staggering £17,000 to insure his £2,000 Vauxhall Corsa.
Student James Hayes, who turns 17 next week, saved for months to buy his modest one-litre car but has been astonished at the sky-high quotes for insurance.
He will have to work flat out over the summer to pay the premiums.
His case highlights how insurers are increasingly using prohibitive premiums as a weapon against young male drivers.
The failure of insurers to offer reasonably priced insurance is being blamed on an explosion in uninsured drivers, which drives up the cost of cover for others and leads middle-class parents to commit a crime by putting themselves as the main driver on their children’s cars.
This reluctance to insure young men is based on accident statistics.
Men aged 17 to 20 are almost ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the roads than older drivers, while one in five new drivers has a crash within six months of passing their test, according to road safety charity Brake.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says the average claim of a younger driver is also three times more than older drivers.
But their refusal to cover male teenagers for affordable premiums has led to almost a quarter driving uninsured, according to Brake.
And this ends up costing all motorists as they foot the £500million annual bill for accidents caused by uninsured drivers. Fines for driving without insurance can be as small as £200 plus six points on the licence.
James Daley, editor of Which? Money, says: ‘Uninsured driving is just a knock-on effect of insurers charging high premiums. If insurers really want to combat this then they need to come up with innovative solutions to help young drivers reduce their costs.
‘It’s in everybody’s interests to encourage young people to be better drivers and those who are responsible and maybe need to drive for their job should not be made to feel as if they’re being discriminated against.’
Car insurance premiums have rocketed 11 per cent in the past three months, according to the AA. The average premium for drivers who shop around is £704, but most young drivers can expect to pay at least £1,500 more than this.
Mr Hayes says: ‘I used six comparison websites and the cheapest comprehensive quote I found as a learner driver was £2,257 with ibuyeco. This rises to £3,555 with Admiral when I pass my test. It’s ridiculous when my car is only worth £2,000.’
The most expensive comprehensive quote he received was from The Green Insurance Company at £17,000 per year.
Mr Hayes, who is studying for his A-levels, earns £5.60 per hour working at a supermarket during the holidays and weekends. As well as his insurance, road tax and MoT, he will also have to pay for driving lessons at £13 per hour.
Many youngsters get their parents to insure their car and go on the policy as a named driver – an illegal process known as ‘fronting’.
Mr Daley says: ‘This really is a middle-class crime. Families think: “Well, everybody else is doing it so why shouldn’t we?” ‘
Mr Hayes, who hopes to work in the film industry after he finishes his studies, does not want third party-only insurance and does not want to invalidate his insurance by fronting.
Direct line told him that it keeps all quotes generated by customers – so if someone initially got a quote for themselves, decided it was too expensive and got a new quote with their parent as the main driver instead, the insurer would not pay out on this policy because it has obviously been fronted.
A spokeswoman for Direct line says: ‘Fronting is fraud and the consequences could be grave – ranging from an additional premium being required, to the cancelling of a policy (and therefore non-payment of the claim) as well as the policyholder being added to the financial industry’s fraud database.’
Malcolm Tarling of the ABI says: ‘It is not uncommon for premiums for young drivers to exceed the value of their car.
‘The main risk is not loss or damage to the car itself, but the potential cost of personal injury awards made against the driver if they cause an accident. This can easily run into tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
The best way for young drivers to minimise the cost of insurance is to shop around using comparison sites, such as Moneysupermarket.com, GoCompare.com, ComparetheMarket.com, Compare.dailymail.co.uk and Tiger.co.uk.
You could also find a local specialist broker on the British Insurance Brokers’ Association website www. biba.org.uk or by calling 0870 950 1790. For the cheapest cars to insure, visit www.thisismoney.co.uk/cheap
Will Thomas of Confused.com says: ‘When you’ve passed your test, take the Pass Plus course. Only 6 per cent of 17 to 25-year-old males do, but it saves them £1,037 on average before they reach 25.
‘Start with a small-engine runaround in order to build driving experience.’
Txt-Drive driving school in Bedford has FULLY QUALIFIED driving instructors that can deliver the PASS PLUS course to you. The PASS PLUS course costs just £150.00 for 6 hours of driving lessons. The PASS PLUS course is designed for new drivers that have recently passed their driving test as it helps to develop their existing skills & it also provides more experience for the new driver. The PASS PLUS course covers motorway driving, night driving, all weather driving & much more. To book driving lessons in Bedford with Bedford driving school Txt-Drive, please call : 0800 8600 983 (FREEPHONE). To book yourself on the PASS PLUS course after your driving test call a Txt-Drive driving instructor in Bedford on the above FREEPHONE number or visit www.txt-drive.co.uk.
SWEEPING changes on how young motorists are taught to drive will be introduced before the end of the summer in an attempt to cut the carnage on our roads.
Tough new rules will force learner drivers to undertake compulsory training before applying to sit their driving test.
The new process could cost them up to €700, the Irish Independent has learned.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) last night said details of a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system would be announced within weeks. It will include a requirement that all learners take a set number of lessons from a qualified driving instructor.
The changes will also oblige a learner to keep a logbook detailing the hours spent practising. Only motorists who pass an approved syllabus will be allowed to sit a test.
The move comes after last week’s horrific road accident in Co Donegal in which eight people died — the worst single collision in the history of the State.
Eight young men were travelling in a Volkswagen Passat when it collided with a Toyota Corolla. Seven passengers were killed and the driver remains in hospital. The driver of the Corolla, a 66-year-old man, also died. Gardai are still probing the cause of the crash.
But statistics show that inexperienced drivers, particularly men aged 17 to 24, are most at risk of dying on the roads.
Despite the number of road deaths falling to a record low, Ireland is one of the only countries in the EU that does not have a formal programme on how people are taught to drive.
The current system allows anyone who has held a learner permit for six months to apply for a test. During that period they must be accompanied by a qualified driver, but once they pass they are free to drive alone.
The changes will only affect new learner permit holders. Anyone who holds a licence now will not be affected.
“This system is in place in the UK, Germany, Northern Ireland and France. There’s very few places that don’t have it. It’s very similar to getting a pilot’s licence, you have to do your hours,” RSA chief executive Noel Brett said last night.
“We have done the syllabus and are working on the regulations needed. It will include a number of hours of training, and the syllabus will also cover the responsibilities of drivers.
“The first step will be to get the permit, then engage with an approved instructor and cover the syllabus. Drivers will clock up practice hours and have a logbook signed by the accompanying driver.”
Curfew
However, some aspects of GDL systems used in other countries will not be introduced. A curfew on learner drivers and a ban on carrying passengers were “not needed” here, he said.
Last year, the RSA issued a public consultation document setting out a range of options for a GDL system.
It said: “There is evidence that the best approach to learning to drive is a mix of compulsory lessons and supervised practice. Compulsory lessons would involve learners taking structured lessons set out in a programme specially designed to meet the needs of learners.
“The number of lessons would depend on the ability of the learner working through the programme but would be of the order of 20 hours.”
Driving lessons cost €35 per hour — meaning the total for 20 hours would be about €700.
The RSA would not confirm how many hours of training would be required when the plan was formally rolled out.
The changes are awaiting final sign-off from the Department of Transport and will be announced before the end of the summer.
Medical checks, driving evaluations and better public transport could all help older drivers stay safe on our roads.
The RAC report on motoring, out this week, highlights strong support from 84% of older motorists for refresher driving courses. With over three-quarters of 70-year-olds driving for over 30 years, and 86% having no additional driver training or assessment since passing their test, the driving needs of elderly motorists must be reviewed. Whether this translates into regular medical checks and refresher courses for all drivers, or when the driver reaches a certain age, the debate must be led by both government and society and any changes must be based on hard evidence.
Statistics show that, although older motorists have no more accidents each year than other drivers over 25, they are more likely to be the cause of an accident. Our research reveals that seven out of 10 of Britain’s motorists are concerned about older people driving on the roads today. And with over 3 million older motorists on the road – set to double to over 6 million in the next 20 years – that is a large number of drivers to worry about. Indeed, around two thirds of British motorists support compulsory medical checks and driving evaluations for the elderly.
So, government needs to consider initiatives to help the older generation to continue to drive safely. Perhaps we can learn from our European counterparts? In Spain, a driving licence is valid for only five years when the holder is aged 45 to 70, and two years from 70 on. A person over the age of 70 is asked to present a medical certificate at each renewal. In France, once aged 75, you must pass a medical test every two years to retain your licence. Much stricter than the UK’s current rules, where motorists at the age of 70 get their driving licence renewed for 3 years with a self-declaration of fitness.
Improving the quality of our roads would also go a long way to ensuring older motorists’ confidence: 14% of older drivers lack confidence on driving on damaged roads with potholes. This means nearly 500,000 older drivers are having difficulties on our roads today. Improving public transport links and networks to ease the mobility of older people would also help, as our research shows half of all older motorists would use their car less if public transport were better. Government needs to make better provisions for managing and repairing the roads, as well as provide viable transport alternatives.
The challenge for society is to ensure that older generations are competent drivers, and we need to have a serious debate about the practicalities and benefits of refresher courses, compulsory medical testing and driving evaluations.
This video from the DSA YouTube Channel gives an insight into what the new independent driving part of the driving test involves. The independent driving part of the test will be used in practical driving tests from October 2010.
Porsche is the latest car manufacturer to recall its cars after a fault was found with the seatbelts in its Panamera.
The four-door Porsche hasn’t been on sale for long, but according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the seatbelts may not operate correctly if the front seat is put in an ‘extreme position’.
That extreme position is said to be when the front seats are moved as far forward as they can be, the possible result being inaction of the seatbelt’s locking mechanism.
The fault was discovered by Porsche, with the German company notifying the NHTSA and stating that it is undertaking a recall to rectify the problem by adding a locking mechanism to the seatbelt.
Porsche will fit the additional part to Panameras free of charge when customers visit their dealerships.
To date there are no reports of any incidents related to the seatbelt fault.
Txt-Drive driving lessons in Bedford are in the new BMW Mini cars so rest assured you are learning in a safe car. Some other driving schools & driving instructors in Bedford use Toyota cars which have been recalled in their thousands. As far as we know there are no driving schools or driving instructors in Bedford which give driving lessons in a Porsche Panamera!!!
