Young People Not Developed To Drive

Many of us are keen to pass our driving test as soon as we are over 17. Some even manage to learn whilst only 16 and pass on their 17th birthday. It is a mark of status in our culture, in the UK, to be able to drive and you can find those who do not are under incredible peer pressure to learn.

However, new research has found that perhaps we should be waiting a bit longer before getting behind the wheel. It seems that the brains of young people are not fully developed and this can have an adverse affect on their driving skills.

Dangerous road activity from teenage drivers may be due in part to their physical make-up, new research has indicated.

"It seems plausible that immature executive functioning may lie behind the poor hazard anticipation and detection skills that seem to characterise many adolescent drivers," said the project leader.

According to a study, the frontal lobe of the brain - responsible for risk assessment and decision making - does not become fully developed until the age of 25. This is a full eight years after the legal driving age in the UK. So we have young people out on the roads for eight years whose ability to make cognitive decisions is under developed.

This means that a driver under this age may be likely to take more chances and make incorrect choices on the road, it added. This behaviour is fine whilst playing driving simulation games of which there are many but it could be a very serious and real threat to other more sensible drivers on the road.
Similarly, a young person's car insurance policy may be at risk simply because of their physiology. We all know that as a young person your car insurance is likely to be prohibitive especially if your first car is anything other than a beat up old mini. This research may suggest that insurance companies are vindicated. Instead of seeming to unfairly penalise young people they have been simply doing the right thing.

If you would like to know more about driving why not ask AnswerBank Motoring.