Amelia is the editor at DriversEdgeUK and has been working there since the website launched last year. Previously, she worked for Live Magazine and studied journalism at South Bank University in London.
The UK has seen a big drop in the number of young drivers since 2005 which has been put down to a combination of the cost of learning and the cost of running a car. The number of 17 - 22 year olds taking their practical driving test has fallen by a massive 19% since 2005 which is a drop of around 220,000 people! But, why has the number fallen so much?
If we take a closer look at the cost of learning to drive initially, it has seen an increase of 33%* overall. The average cost of a driving lesson has increased by 14% to £24 per hour, the theory test has seen an increase of 48% to £31 and the practical driving test has seen an increase of 36% to £62 which is the weekday price and £75 which is the weekday evening, weekend and bank holiday price to take the driving test.
On the other hand, we can assess the cost of running a car. Let’s start with car tax on a 1.4l Volkswagen Polo for example; this has seen increase of 24% to £130 per year. Car insurance has increased by 60% and petrol prices have seen an increase of 56% to an average of £1.36 per litre, which might I add is still rising. According to a government survey, almost two thirds of young drivers who can't drive we're put off by the cost of learning to drive. Currently, it takes an average learner driver 14 months to pass their practical driving test.
What's our take on the matter? Driving provides social mobility and like the example of Chris, a 20 year old living in rural Suffolk who can only work from 10:30am to 4:30pm because his last bus is at 4:55pm. The cost of learning became too much for him to handle, so he postponed it and doesn’t know when he’s going to continue. The cost increases could see a rise in the number of illegal new and young drivers throughout the UK. Driving is a life skill which every young person, especially males, wants to learn as quickly as possible. One glimmer of hope for young drivers is that the cost of insurance has fallen by 5.6% and we could see further reductions in the near future.
*All figures are compared with statistics from 2005.
Sources: Driving Standards Agency, AA, Office for National Statistics
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