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Pass Plus to be replaced with new post-test driver training12 May 2011by Robbie Dunmore As part of new road safety initiatives announced by the Government, the current Post-test training scheme, Pass Plus, is to be replaced by a new driver skills training scheme which the Government is hoping will be better recognised by the car insurance industry via lowered premiums with the effect that the uptake from newly-qualified drivers, hopefully, will be greater than has been the case with Pass Plus that has had low uptake among the most dangerous group (young male drivers) and has been of greatest interest to those with the lowest risk (women drivers). This change is part of several new proposals intended to enhance road safety which include new police powers to hand out roadside fines for 'careless' driving, a revamp of the driving test which will include film clips in the theory test, serious driving offence disqualifications to be followed up by a driving test before being licensed again to drive, greater use of measures to seize and destroy the vehicles of serious offenders, better enforcement of drug and drink driving laws, an increased fixed penalty for speeding, more training initiatives as an alternative to license points or disqualification, more public information about local road safety performance via a new website and even the launch of a new annual road safety day. Much of the above is to be welcomed. It shifts the emphasis towards training (which reduces risk) away from purely fines and license points (which have not been shown to have a lasting effect on road safety). While replacement of the Pass Plus is a step in the right direction, it will remain to be seen whether the insurance industry will embrace it via lowered premiums for those that take it. Insurers have been under intense financial pressure recently with most reporting significant losses. Any measures that could increase their financial risk will be approached with caution. The public should therefore not expect the taking of advanced driver training to make a big difference to what they pay for their cover. However, if companies are conscientious about collecting actuarial data and the training is indeed associated with lowered risk, then this will translate into lower premiums over time. The effect of the latter on the uptake of advanced driver training could lead to a situation similar to the current where young drivers are not incentivised to take further training courses. We have made the case for mandatory advanced driver training for young drivers here before although it's not something that we would expect the Government to adopt. In its absence, it seems likely that the uptake of advanced driver training will remain limited unless the Government works closely with the insurance industry, via voluntary codes and possibly the use of statutory measures, to better support such training initiatives. Again, it is unlikely that statutory measures would be deemed an appropriate means of tackling this issue. It will then be a matter of personal choice which, to date, has led to an insignificant level of uptake of advanced driver training. Anything that reduces driver risk, so preventing some accidents, helps to reduce costs to motorists when they compare car insurance (resources below) in view of the reduced cost burden of accidents to insurers. |
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