Two new RAC Foundation reports on young driver safety

 

Two new reports have recently published by the RAC Foundation on young driver safety:

 

Box (2025) More than a Passenger: How parents shape young driver outcomes (Link)

 

This rapid evidence review highlights the crucial but underused role of parents and guardians in supporting young drivers. It shows that:

 

• Parental influence extends well beyond the learner phase into the first years of independent driving.
• Supervision, rule setting, modelling, and vehicle access decisions all shape young driver risk.
• Structured interventions (e.g. parent coaching, telematics) can be effective, especially when combined with licensing frameworks.

 

The report concludes that investing in parental engagement offers an immediate, evidence-based way to improve safety in Great Britain.

 

Ipsos (2025) Exploring Young People’s Attitudes to Graduated Driver Licensing (Link)

 

This deliberative research explored the views of 17–19-year-olds on Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). Key findings include:

 

• While young people recognised the risks for new drivers, they often attributed crashes to reckless individuals rather than age and inexperience.
• Attitudes to GDL softened when international evidence was reviewed, with more openness to changes pre-test (e.g. minimum learning period) than post-test restrictions.
• Acceptance of GDL remains muted, but the study underscores the importance of understanding young people’s perspectives in shaping policy.

 

Together, these reports highlight both the potential of parental engagement and the challenges of public acceptance for GDL, offering important insights for policy and practice.

 

We hope you will find these reports of interest for your own work and would welcome you sharing them with your networks.