A NEW study has seen the British public cast their votes on hot topics around road safety, increased legal ages for driving and car ownership confidence.

Discussions surrounding driving laws are on the rise, with over-70s facing driving bans over failed eye tests, calls to ban new drivers from carrying passengers and the government facing criticism for failing to include stronger driving licence rules for new and young motorists. In an effort to see what the country’s motorists want, motoring experts and private plate supplier Regtransfers has polled the British public for their views on road safety matters.

When asked, 51 per cent of participants said they believed all UK driving licence holders, regardless of age, should be legally required to retake a driving test (or similar competency assessment) every 10 years to prove they can still drive safely. A third agreed with the concept, but said that it should only apply to those over a certain age.

What’s more, while the current legal driving age is 17, three in every four participants of the poll (75 per cent) felt that the legal age of drivers should increase. A third (34 per cent) stated that it should see a small increase to 18 years old, while another third (35 per cent) said it would be best to increase the minimum legal age to 21. A small percentage (7 per cent) even felt the driving age should increase to as high as 25 years old.

Statistics published on the gov.uk website indicate that young male car drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured, compared with all car drivers aged 25 or over. While the most common contributing factor to incidents, across all ages, was ‘failure to look properly’, younger drivers were more likely to be faced with factors such as ‘driver careless, reckless or in a hurry’, ‘loss of control’ and ‘exceeding speed limit’.

When asked of their own experiences of incidents (defined as “any collision causing damage to a vehicle or object”), nearly two in every five respondents reported that they experienced their first accident within one year of driving.

Commenting on the findings of their study, Regtransfers CEO Mark Trimbee states: "These findings show just how strongly the public feels about road safety, with support for measures that go further than the current rules we have in place. The introduction of regular competency checks and higher minimum driving ages would no doubt be costly to implement, but I imagine some - certainly a number of our study participants - might say there’s no price too great for the reassurance that every road user - whether 17 or 70 - has the necessary skills to drive safely.

“It’s interesting to see that many drivers admit to having an accident in their very first year behind the wheel. That should give policymakers pause for thought, because it reinforces official data indicating that younger and less experienced motorists are significantly more vulnerable.”