Britain’s Young Drivers Should Face Stricter Rules, Says CEO of AA Breakdown Service

Young British drivers who have just passed their test should be banned from carrying passengers of a similar age and should display special plates, according to the chief executive officer of the AA car breakdown service.

The measures, proposed by Jakob Pfaudler in a letter sent to UK Transport Secretary Louise Haigh last week, are aimed at reducing accidents by new, young drivers. They are similar to laws already in place in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada and would help cut insurance premiums for inexperienced drivers, Pfaudler said.

“What we’ve seen in other countries is a graduated driving license could lead to insurance premiums for young drivers dropping by up to 40%,” he said in an interview. Car insurance costs have soared in the UK since the pandemic, particularly for younger drivers who are most at risk of accidents.

Road Accidents

Laws to stop young drivers carrying passengers of a similar age for six months after passing the driving test “would help to reduce the unnecessary deaths and serious injuries,” Pfaudler said in the letter, a copy of which has been seen by Bloomberg. He also called for these graduate drivers to display “G plates” during that time.

His other proposals include banning young license-holders from driving if they’re caught not wearing a seatbelt and having them keep a logbook of their experiences on the road before passing their test.

Pfaudler’s comments accompanied the release of half-year results by the car breakdown service, which showed a 14% rise in revenue to £712 million ($928 million) from a year earlier, with pretax profit up 70% to £39 million in the six months to July 31.

Photograph: Traffic on M6 motorway running through Cheshire in Knutsford, UK on March 28, 2024. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)