Young driver news
06/03/2009

Road safety device could help you get cheap car insurance

A new car monitoring scheme to help save lives and injury on UK roads, as well as help in the quest for cheap car insurance, has undergone successful trials.

The system was found to reduce dangerous or high-risk driving manoeuvres by almost 60 per cent. It also led to fuel savings of about 10 per cent.

Parental involvement is a key element of the new technology. Driving improved dramatically when parents discussed the system's motoring analysis and road safety scores with young drivers.

Sensors are fitted around the vehicle and a unit is mounted on the dashboard to process and store information about driving habits and techniques.

Parents are able to access their young driver's safety score for all trips, checking speeds travelled and for driving errors.

The death toll now stands at more than 14 young drivers and passengers killed every week on UK roads. That equates to ten times more than for older, more experienced motorists.

County councils in Warwickshire and Staffordshire are rolling out the system called Green Road Safety Centre, with some 20 other councils said to be considering implementing the scheme.

Installing the device leads cheap car insurance as an automatic discount of 25 per cent is applied for young drivers - and shopping voucher rewards are handed out for safe driving every month.