Does the Insurance Industry Care about young drivers?

Doesn't seem like it.

Our lovely Mr Ladyman (no jokes please), has been answering some questions at the house of commons (and not answering others, but hell, he's a politician aint he?!).

One of the points which he was rightly concerned about was the death/serious injury rate of young drivers, including the fact that young men are 4 times more likely to kill themselves and others in their first year of driving than women.

He makes the point that though both sexes take the same test, the lads are nutters. Like we've said here before, it's not a case of passing the test, it's how they view driving - their attitude, that counts.

He also gives an opinion on the 6 points and you're banned scheme which has been running a while, and he feels that this is not effective. Now at first I thought - what? You must be joking - ban 'em and they'll learn their lesson, but of course they don't. Half of them never re-apply for their test - are we to assume that these people give up driving? Or do we reckon that a lot of them go on to drive illegally, without insurance, tax, and breaking the law in any way they feel? I suspect this is often the case, and will concede the point to Mr Ladyman - expect the law to change on this one sometime (don't expect soon though!).

One problem he does have is that just out of reach, he can see a huge quantity of information which could help him to work out the best course of action for making Britain's roads safer. Unfortunately, due to "commercial privacy" he can't get his hands on it. What are the insurance industry thinking? Do they care at all? It seems not.

With the help of this information, we might be able to make sensible, informed decisions on how to improve driver training. Without it - our insurance premiums stay high, young drivers keep on killing themselves and their girlfriends, but heck, at least the insurance companies get to keep their market share.

Read the transcript here:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmtran/uc355-iii/uc35502.htm
(if you've got the patience - it's dull, but has some interesting facts in it)