Teens 'twice as likely to crash'
Young drivers are twice as likely to crash than other motorists, according to a new study.
Insurance company Admiral has reported the cost of incidents involving drivers aged 17 and 18 was also double that of others overall.
The study found that people in the age group were six times more likely to have an accident than drivers aged over 50, three times as likely than those in their 40s and twice as likely as those in their 30s.
Overall, 13% of motorists between 17 and 18 had been involved in a crash in comparison to 6.5% of motorists overall, the study based on two million drivers found.
The crash figure for drivers in their 40s was 4.5%, while for those over 50 the figure was just 2%.
Admiral found the average cost of an accident involving a 17 or 18-year-old was nearly £3,500, compared with a figure of £1,741 overall.
The company said this pointed to young drivers having more serious crashes at high speed, which often involved an injury to someone. It added that an accident claim made by someone aged 17-21 was nearly five times more likely to include somebody being injured than a claim made by someone aged over 25.
Admiral managing director Sue Longthorn said: "From our point of view, driving experience makes a huge difference and is the main reason older motorists have lower premiums."