Transport Committee told innovation and education will improve road safety

BIBA’s Executive Director, Graeme Trudgill, called for Government to zero-rate Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) for young driver telematics policies while giving oral evidence at the Transport Committee’s Inquiry into Road Safety and Young and Novice Drivers. 

Trudgill highlighted that zero-rating IPT for telematics would encourage more younger drivers to purchase such policies and allow them to benefit from cheaper premiums, encourage young drivers to drive responsibly and would provide the road safety benefits that is evidenced from telematics providers.

Trudgill told the Transport Committee, chaired by Huw Merriman MP that “evidence from the providers is that there are far fewer incidents when a young driver has a telematics policy” and that this is a “great opportunity to increase penetration in the market” by using zero-rated IPT “as a carrot to consider telematics as an option”.

Chair Huw Merriman MP outlined that young drivers are overrepresented in collisions across Britain and questioned the panel of industry representatives on road safety for young drivers.  Trudgill said that drivers aged 17 – 25 are five times more likely to be in involved in a road accident and three times more likely to be in crash caused by speed because of a combination of their age and lack of experience.

Trudgill told the Committee that since telematics policies have been introduced that there has been a correlation in reduction in road accidents and uptake in telematics policies. He highlighted evidence from Marmalade that accident rates in those using telematics devices reduce from 1 in 5, to 1 in 18 within the first six months of passing the driving test.

Outlining other ways to improve road safety, Trudgill also called for the national curriculum to include road safety and for courses such as the AA Drive Tech to become part of the driving test procedure and theory test.   

Evidence was given to the committee from Graeme Trudgill, Laura Hughes from ABI and Nika Lee from Insure the Box.

Authored by BIBA