More than 23,000 killed or seriously injured in crashes involving young drivers
More than 23,000 people have been killed or seriously injured in crashes involving young drivers over the past five years, new analysis by the National Police Chiefs’ Council has revealed.
The analysis of Department for Transport road casualty data found that 23,000 people were killed or seriously injured in Great Britain between 2021 and 2025 in collisions involving a car driver aged between 17 and 24.
Around 7,500 of those seriously injured or killed were young drivers themselves, while more than 4,000 were passengers in cars driven by young people. More than 11,600 were other road users, including occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians.
The figures have been released as police launch a three-week national operation targeting young driver risk.
Operation Spotlight on Young Drivers, running until October 4, brings together police forces, fire services and road safety organisations to focus on enforcement, education and prevention.
The analysis found that almost a third of young drivers involved in fatal or serious-injury collisions were involved in single-vehicle crashes, compared with 23% of drivers overall. Two-thirds of young drivers involved in collisions resulting in death or serious injury were male.
Risk was also particularly high at weekends and during evenings and nights. Young drivers were twice as likely to be involved in fatal collisions on rural roads as urban roads.
Young people living in rural areas were also involved in such collisions at twice the rate per head of population – 87 per 100,000 compared with 43 per 100,000 in urban areas.
Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier, deputy national coordinator at the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, said inexperience and an inability to assess risk were among the most significant factors affecting young driver safety.
“Prevention is always our priority,” he said, adding that parents and peers could play an important role in influencing young people’s behaviour behind the wheel.
The NPCC is urging parents to remain involved in their children’s driving after they pass their tests, including helping them build experience gradually and agreeing boundaries around passengers and late-night driving.
The campaign comes as road safety organisations continue to call for measures to reduce the risks faced by newly qualified drivers.
The National Fire Chiefs Council is calling on the government to consult on post-test protection licensing, which would allow young drivers to gain experience more gradually and reduce their exposure to higher-risk situations.