Young drivers targeted in new road safety crackdown as fatality risk soars

Hemma Visavadia
Sat, 25 Apr 2026 08:01:08 +0000

Young drivers have been targeted in a new road safety campaign after alarming figures revealed they are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads.

Warwickshire County Council has launched the initiative this week, focusing on cutting casualties among newly qualified motorists travelling through the countryside.

At the heart of the campaign is the Fosse Way, one of the longest rural routes in the county, where dangerous driving, particularly at bends and junctions, has been identified as a major concern.

Officials explained that the move comes after data showed a stark imbalance in collision rates. Young drivers make up just eight per cent of those on the road in Warwickshire, yet they are involved in 21 per cent of crashes and nearly a third of all deaths on rural routes.

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Across all age groups, rural roads remain a serious risk, with reports detailing how they account for 41 per cent of total collisions in the county.

Men are also disproportionately affected, making up 82 per cent of those killed on countryside roads.

The council explained that junctions are among the most dangerous places, with research showing that two-thirds of 4,700 serious speeding incidents happened at these locations.

The campaign combines physical road improvements with a strong social media push, aiming to reach younger motorists directly with messages about safer driving.

A key focus of the plans is tackling a common misconception about speed. Many drivers believe they are only at risk if they break the speed limit, but officials warned that this is not the case.

Evidence suggested that most drivers on rural Warwickshire roads actually travel at around 40mph or less, despite many roads having a national speed limit of 60mph.

This indicates that "inappropriate speed for the conditions" rather than simply exceeding the limit, is a leading factor in serious crashes.

Drivers are now being urged to think beyond the speedometer, especially when approaching bends or junctions where visibility and reaction times are reduced.

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The campaign was developed in partnership with behavioural insights firm SoMoCo, using modern data techniques including mobile phone data and artificial intelligence to better understand driving habits.

Importantly, young drivers themselves helped shape the campaign. Through workshops and research sessions, they contributed to the creation of videos and online content designed to resonate with their age group.

This approach aimed to avoid the pitfalls of traditional top-down messaging, instead delivering advice in a way that feels relevant and authentic.

Mark Ryder, Warwickshire County Council's Executive Director for Communities, said: "This campaign is an important step forward in addressing the disproportionately high number of collisions involving young drivers on rural roads."

He added that combining engineering changes with behavioural insight would help "make a real difference where it matters most".

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe also backed the initiative, highlighting the devastating human cost behind the statistics.

"Every serious collision I am briefed on represents a moment where everything changed for a family," he said.

"Too often, the people involved are young, with their whole lives ahead of them."

One of the young contributors to the campaign, Ashleigh Green, said she was encouraged by how seriously officials took their input.

"I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were genuinely interested in our suggestions and open to listening to what we had to say," she said.

SoMoCo chief executive Nicola Wass added that traditional road safety messages often fail to connect with younger drivers. She pointed to factors such as inexperience, overconfidence and social pressure as key influences on behaviour behind the wheel.