Learn to Drive | Young Drivers in the UK are Less Distracted Than Young Drivers in the US
Teens must learn to drive while avoiding distractions. The CDC found the UK has fewer distracted teen drivers. They must learn to drive and avoid distractions.
A recent survey by the CDC found that nearly 40% of U.S. drivers ages 18 to 29 said they talk on their cell phone “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving. Talking on a cell phone is a major distraction for a young driver who is still trying to learn to drive safely. The CDC survey also looked at some European countries and found that in the UK only 3% of young drivers said they talk on their cell phone “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving. This is a very large difference and road safety experts should be looking at what is happening in the UK that is different than the US.
The CDC survey also found that 25% of young driver’s said they are texting or e-mailing “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving. The data showed that compared to other age groups young drivers had the highest occurrence of texting “regularly” or “fairly often”. The CDC survey also looked at European countries and found that only 3% of young drivers in the UK said they are texting “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving. This large difference should be looked at to determine what is happening in the UK that is reducing texting by young drivers.
Some people who have lived in both the US and the UK found the UK driving tests were much harder and more comprehensive that the US driving tests. Is the difficulty of the testing causing young drivers in the UK to be less likely to text or use their cell phone?
Some believe driver behaviour could be improved if it was standardised across the US. Currently each state has it’s own set of laws regarding driving. Some states are vastly different from others.
The UK government sponsors commercials which are very “scary” (just like the video) and maybe UK young drivers are getting the message that way.
An answer needs to found soon. The UK has found it…..why can’t America find it?
4 thoughts on “Learn to Drive | Young Drivers in UK are Less Distracted”
Thanks Raymond. The most expensive course doesn’t mean it’s the best. There are moderately priced courses that are very good too. Stay away from the cheap courses though. Nobody can provide a quality product at a bargain basement price without cutting corners.
Thanks for sharing your observations Justine.
Just to add…. The more professional tuition students take the more likely they are to influenced by their trainer. Hopefully, instilling good and safe practices for life!
The UK has far from found it. It’s true that the culture here in the UK may be slightly different in that it’s more socially unacceptable to drink and drive or use their mobiles to accept calls or text. It seems that the older generation is worse. The penalties are also increasing for using a mobile phone whilst driving to a larger fine and penalty points on their licence. Penalty points makes getting insurance more complicated and expensive, making a reasonable deterrent.
I don’t know the average amount of driving lessons are taken in the US but according to the Driving Standards Agency here in the UK it’s approx 47 hours professional tuition plus approx 20 hours private practice. That the driving test is quite involved and the majority of students want to drive a manual gear box, it takes some time to get used to the controls. Post test whilst they are busy changing gears and using the clutch they have less time to use their phone. Maybe that’s the answer in the US…go back to driving manuals! 😉