Young drivers

Brain development

Although the human brain has mostly stopped growing by the end of a person’s teenage years, it continues to go through a period of extensive remodelling. This strengthens connections between nerve cells and enables information to be processed more efficiently. This period is critical for the development of the pre-frontal cortex (part of the frontal lobe), which plays an important role in regulating impulsive behaviour, and the ability to anticipate the consequences of behaviour.

The pre-frontal cortex does not reach full maturity until people are at least in their mid-20s.

Meanwhile, the limbic region, which is associated with emotional responses, is over-active between the ages of 15 and 24. Increased limbic activity means that young people are more likely to be influenced by their peers and are more likely to indulge in thrill-seeking behaviour.

This period of development means young drivers are often more likely to take risks and less able to regulate their impulses or understand the consequences of their decisions.

Young people also underestimate certain high-risk behaviours. For example, research has shown that young drivers are less likely than older drivers to rate speeding as high-risk.

Over-confidence

As drivers gain experience on the road, they become less likely to crash and more likely to drive in a manner that is attentive, careful, responsible and safe. However, many young drivers are still overconfident in their ability to drive safely.

Over-confidence can lead to dangerous driving behaviours including:

• Overtaking
• Speeding
• Tailgating
• Harsh braking
• Racing

The practical skills of driving can be mastered quickly, however, some (less obvious) skills such as hazard perception require more experience. This means young drivers may think they are in control when they are actually driving unsafely, and become more likely to take risks as they believe their skills are improving.

Research has shown that young drivers who show overconfidence in self-assessment of their skills are more likely to crash in their first two years of driving than those who are insecure about their driving skills.

Poor assessment of hazards

Although some hazards on the road are easy to identify, there are some situations where hazards are not immediately obvious. It often takes experience to notice these hidden hazards, so inexperienced young drivers may not notice them and react in time. Research has shown young drivers show poorer attention, visual awareness, hazard recognition and avoidance, and are less able to judge appropriate speed for circumstances.

Driving requires constantly balancing the attention needed for practical tasks such as steering and changing gears, and more cognitively demanding tasks such as hazard identification. Because of their inexperience young drivers need to concentrate more on practical tasks, so are slower to switch between tasks and slower to react to hazards.