- 35% of people have been in a crash involving a young driver, or know someone who has, a new report from Brake, the road safety charity, finds
- 54% of 18- to 24-year-olds have been in a crash involving a young driver, or know someone who has
- New Brake research reveals widespread public support for a stronger licensing system
- 77% support a stronger driver licensing system in Britain to reduce deaths and injuries from crashes involving young drivers
- 72% think strengthening the driver licensing system is essential to save lives
- 89% agree that all road users should be protected from known risks
- 88% support zero-tolerance to drink-driving for new drivers
- Brake urges the public to respond to the Government’s road safety consultations before the 11 May deadline
- Full statistics and report findings detailed below. Media spokespeople and case study available for interview.
Published today (15 April 2026), the Young Driver Safety report details the findings of an online survey of 3,000 UK adults, which sought people’s views on young driver safety and different ways in which the driver licensing system could be strengthened. A stronger licensing system – often called graduated driver licensing (GDL) – would require learner drivers to undergo enhanced training and testing over a minimum learning period, and grant driving privileges to new drivers in stages.
The report highlights that 35% of respondents have been in a road collision involving a vehicle driven by a young driver, or know someone who has. That number increases to a staggering 54% among 18- to 24-year-olds.
Brake's research also reveals that more than three-quarters (77%) support changes to the driver licensing system to reduce the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in crashes involving young drivers.
The Young Driver Safety report comes after the Government announced its long-awaited road safety strategy in January, which laid out plans for making roads safer and reducing road death and injury over the next 10 years. It also launched several consultations, including on new measures aimed at tackling risks associated with young drivers and tougher penalties for driving offences.
Today, Brake calls on the Government to listen to the compelling evidence brought together in the Young Driver Safety report and commit to reforming the driver licensing system in Britain. We also urge members of the public to join us and demand action to save lives, by responding to the consultations before the 11 May deadline.
Read the Young Driver Safety report in full here: www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/reports/young-driver-safety-report
One in five road deaths and serious injuries involve young drivers
Young drivers are at far greater risk of crashing than any other age group. In 2024, 20% of collisions on Britain’s roads that resulted in death or serious injury involved a vehicle driven by someone aged 17 to 24 [1]. That’s 4,740 people every year killed or seriously injured from a crash involving a young driver. It’s not only young people who pay the price: half of those killed or seriously injured in young-driver crashes are other road users, like pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers or passengers.
Brake’s report hits home that this isn’t something that just happens to other people – the impact reaches far and wide and is a cause of societal anxiety. More than half (59%) of all respondents said they worry that they or someone they love could be involved in a crash with a young driver.
Stronger licensing prevents crashes and saves lives
Evidence from other countries demonstrates that stronger licensing systems have successfully reduced the numbers of people killed or injured in road crashes involving young drivers. It has also been estimated that a stronger licensing system could prevent thousands of road casualties and save millions of pounds each year if introduced in Britain [2].
Young-driver collisions are a public health issue. Stopping them not only prevents death and catastrophic injuries and the trauma they cause, but it also prolongs lives, reduces the burden on the NHS, and has many other societal and economic benefits.
Research findings reveal strong public support for change
Most people – 89% of respondents – agreed that everyone, regardless of their age or how they travel, should be protected from factors that are known to increase risk on the roads. It is very clear that people want the Government to take firm action to tackle road death and injury in Britain.
Three-quarters (75%) of people agreed that the driver licensing system needs to be updated to protect everyone, 77% said they would support a stronger licensing system and 72% agreed that strengthening the licensing system is essential to prevent road death and injury from crashes involving young drivers.
There is equally strong support for measures aimed at mitigating specific risks associated with young learners and newly qualified drivers [3]:
- 70% of survey respondents said there should be a minimum learning period – e.g. six months – before taking a driving test
- 73% agreed that it’s OK for young, newly qualified drivers to have to wait a few months before being permitted to carry peer-age passengers
- 74% think it's OK for newly qualified drivers to wait a few months before being permitted to drive unsupervised late at night
- 88% agreed that new drivers should not be allowed to drink any alcohol when driving for the first six months after passing their test
- 61% back a change in the law to stop young people from driving with passengers under the age of 25 for six months after passing their test (with some exemptions).
Crucially, 79% of people think the Government has a responsibility to prevent future deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving young drivers. And two-thirds (68%) said they would like their MP to do more to reduce the risk of crashes involving young drivers.
Ross Moorlock, Brake’s CEO, said: “Every year at Brake, we support more than 2,000 people who have been bereaved or injured in road crashes through our National Road Victim Service. So, we see first-hand the trauma and devastation that unfolds. The fact that so many crashes involve young drivers, who are just starting a new, exciting chapter of their lives as adults, adds to the heartache.
“We have campaigned for many years for a stronger driver licensing system, with provisions aimed at equipping young and newly qualified drivers with the skills and knowledge they need to safely take to the roads and gain their independence.
“We often hear that death and injury on our roads is inevitable, and that any legislative changes to driver licensing unfairly penalise young people and restrict their freedom. It is essential that we shift our perspective. We know that collisions are preventable, and stronger licensing empowers young people to be safe and responsible drivers and protects everyone who uses our roads.
“Our report really highlights that public opinion is on our side. It’s time for the Government to listen, step up and take firm action to tackle the unacceptable level of death and injury on our roads. It’s time for change.”
There was nothing they could do – ‘a catastrophic brain injury’, they said – and we came away from the hospital with only a lock of her hair and a handprint
Phoebe Johnson was just 17 when she died in October 2021 from injuries she sustained in a late-night crash. The 19-year-old driver of the vehicle Phoebe was travelling in had passed her test just eight weeks earlier. She was driving at night on a rural road, and she was carrying peer passengers.
Nicky Johnson, Phoebe’s mum, said: “If any parts of graduated driver licensing had been law, I believe they wouldn't have taken that journey, and Phoebe would still be here.”
Nicky is backing Brake’s campaign for stronger licensing. She believes changing the law is essential to save lives and prevent other families from going through the unimaginable trauma of losing a child.
“The worst has already happened to us – nothing is going to change that. But seeing week after week more young people dying in this way, the pain physically hurts. And for the most part, it could all be prevented.”
Shaun Helman, chief scientist, behavioural sciences at TRL, said: “Brake’s work is timely, and important within the wider context of the 2026 Road Safety Strategy. It demonstrates broad public support for measures like the minimum learning period currently under consultation, and even measures that go beyond this, to reform licensing and protect young lives.”
Dr Ian Greenwood, who has campaigned to prevent collisions involving young drivers since his daughter Alice, 12, died in a crash, said: “Brake's research builds on existing evidence that the public largely supports reform to the driver licensing system for young and novice drivers.
“The risks associated with inexperienced young drivers have been known for almost a century. The devastating consequences of crashes involving young drivers is seen almost every week in the news, and evidence in favour of a stronger licensing system has been available since graduated driver licensing was first introduced in New Zealand in 1987. I strongly support Brake’s call on Government to act to prevent death and injury on Britain’s roads.”
Dr Neale Kinnear, chartered psychologist and behavioural scientist at Affective Mobility Ltd, said: "The evidence is unambiguous: new drivers are at their most vulnerable in the months immediately after passing the practical test, and the consequences extend well beyond the young driver themselves.
“A structured licensing framework does not limit young drivers – it equips them. It gives young people, parents, instructors and insurers a clear framework for managing risk and supporting the development of safer drivers. The evidence and the public are aligned and the opportunity to act has never been clearer."
Read the Young Driver Safety report in full here: www.brake.org.uk/how-we-help/reports/young-driver-safety-report
A call to action
We appeal to everyone – young people, parents, educators, all road users and road safety industry stakeholders – to join us and demand that the Government takes firm action to save lives.
You have until 11.59pm on Monday 11 May to submit your responses to the Department for Transport’s open consultations on introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers and proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences.
Introducing a minimum learning period for learner drivers - GOV.UK
Proposed changes to penalties for motoring offences - GOV.UK
References
- Reported road casualties in Great Britain: younger driver factsheet, 2024 - GOV.UK
- Kinnear, N., et al. (2013) Novice drivers: Evidence review and evaluation. www.trl.co.uk/publications
- Safe-Mobility-for-Young-People-RAC-Foundation-Proposal-Autumn-2024.pdf