Latest news with #youngDrivers
BBC News
a day ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Scheme targeting anxious Warwickshire drivers wins praise
Police work to help young drivers get over their fears about taking their cars to the garage has been praised in a road safety Police said their team, which work to improve safety and cut the number of crashes in the county, was named Road Safety Partnership of the particular, judges praised a "garage anxiety" initiative and said after-hours garage evenings, which tackled young drivers' reluctance to maintain their vehicles, had "empowered a new generation".Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Seccombe, who is also chair of the county's safety partnership, said getting the recognition was a "fantastic honour". He said the garage anxiety scheme showed "the real difference we can make when we listen to concerns and act on them". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Family wants young driver restrictions after girl's crash death
The family of a 17-year-old girl who died in a crash is calling for restrictions to be placed on new Challen was killed instantly when a car driven by her friend crashed into a stationary mother Jenny, from Normanton, near Bottesford in Leicestershire, met MPs last week to push for graduated driving licences to be introduced in the said she would like to see restrictions placed on young drivers carrying passengers for at least a year after they pass their test. Emily was one of three passengers in a car heading to school, in February 2013, when it hit a lorry that had stopped on a slip road onto the A1 at Long Bennington in Challen said the 18-year-old driver, who later pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving, had been distracted and failed to see the lorry. "There were four of them in the car," said Mrs Challen."They were all friends - good girls, just going to school, but just a moment of lost attention was fatal for Emily."The other passengers were not seriously hurt. Graduated driving licences already exist in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, some US states, Finland, Norway, Sweden, France and Northern Challen told the BBC she believed introducing them here could save hundreds of young lives."What I'd like to see is a restriction on young drivers carrying passengers for at least six months or a year after they pass their tests," she said."It's difficult for young people who are new to driving. It takes a lot of concentration. "Graduated driving licences would allow new drivers to build up their experience on the roads without distractions in their car."I do believe if they were in place at the time, Emily would still be alive." The Department for Transport (DfT) has said it is not considering implementing graduated driving Challen said: "Unfortunately they are not on board and they say the focus will be on educating young drivers. Emily and her friends had been educated. "They were all sensible girls and they were shown quite a graphic video of a crash [at school] the week before she was killed. I remember her saying how shocked she was, and her friends, but it didn't prevent the accident."You can't teach experience." Emily's younger sister Harriet, 26, who joined her mother at the meeting with MPs, said she restricted herself from driving with passengers after she passed her driving test aged 17."We put our own version of a graduated driving licence in," she said. "So I didn't carry passengers for the first year I drove and I self-enforced some of those restrictions we would see."Her mother said: "If we can't get a change in the law then we'd like to see more new drivers doing what Harriet did and choosing not to drive passengers until they have more experience."She felt it was important for her safety after what happened to Emily."There are now more than 200 families in our group, Forget Me Not Families Uniting, and we will keep pushing because we know this will save lives." A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way."Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads."We are determined to tackle this, including through our THINK! campaign, which has a focus on men aged 17 to 24 as they are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than other drivers."
Motor 1
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Enterprise Customer Skips Protection Fee on 2025 Toyota Corolla Rental. Then She Gets the Bill
Renting a car when you're under 25 can be challenging, frustrating, and expensive. Like, extremely expensive. Most rental car companies typically avoid renting out their cars to people under 25, but will make an exception if the price is right. These companies will add-on extra fees to make the exception worth their while and ensure they're protected. Speaking of protection, car renters will have the option to include extra protection against natural disasters and severe weather. So what happens when a young adult skips out on extra insurance on her rental and ends up in a hailstorm? That's what one renter experienced first-hand. She's unhappy about the charges, even though she opted out of extra coverage. In a TikTok with more than 885,600 views, Faith ( @faithmariespillers ) shares how Enterprise is trying to charge her $10,000 after a hailstorm occurred, damaging her rental car. So What Happened With Enterprise Rental? In her TikTok, Faith shares that she was traveling to Oklahoma for a graduation and is under 25 years old. Enterprise charged Faith the typical rental rate and additionally a 'young renters fee,' which she claimed to be $340 for three days. According to Enterprise , the 'young renters fee' starts out at $25 a day but will vary based on demand and location. After agreeing to the young renter's fee, Faith was asked if she wanted to add extra protection to her reservation. She declined after seeing it would cost $40-50 additional each day. 'I was already paying the regular fee, young renter's fee, and I'm not about to add another $40-$50 a day on top of that,' she states. Famous last words. During her trip, a hailstorm swept through Oklahoma and ended up causing hail damage on the vehicle. Once she returned the car, she was charged her deductible of $1,000, and the paperwork began. Both parties began working on the claim and submitted photos and video evidence. After reviewing the damage, Enterprise allegedly sent Faith an invoice for $10,000 in damages. Faith was in disbelief seeing the tab and questioned why she was being charged that much money. 'Mind-blowing and heartbreaking. Looking back I should've just laid out on the car during the storm,' Faith vents. 'What's crazy is the hail would've damaged the car in their parking lot anyway. So sorry girl,' one TikTok commenter shared. She then advises any young car renters to always get the extra protection in case of any natural disaster or severe weather. What did Enterprise Dave to Say About This Situation? An Enterprise representative told Motor1 about the incident: 'It's important to us to resolve any unsatisfactory situations, and we take seriously any concerns brought to us by customers and investigate them thoroughly. "Sometimes customers mistakenly believe if they didn't personally cause or witness any damage [for example, a 'hit-and-run' incident in a parking lot, flooding or hail damage] that they are not responsible. This is one of the most common misconceptions about rental vehicle damage. In fact, customers are financially responsible for damage that occurs during a rental transaction, regardless of fault or negligence, just as if they owned the rental vehicle themselves. This is stated in our rental contract. Enterprise offers additional optional coverage products that could release the renter from liability in most cases. "We are always striving to make each renter's experience the best it can be and help customers better understand what they can do to alleviate the risk on their end.' What Can Be Done to Avoid This Enterprise Situation? Generally speaking, it's always safe to purchase extra protection coverage when renting a car. However, not everyone does this due to the extra cost associated. So what can you do if damage is done while renting a car and you opted out of this extra coverage? First, check with your auto insurance. Most auto insurance providers will consider your rental vehicle part of your plan, depending on your coverage. Insurance companies are well-equipped to go into battle to fight for your case. 'Your insurance will cover it and make sure you tell your insurance you paid your deductible so they don't deduct that from the pay out to the rental car company,' TikTok commenter added. Second, check with your credit card company. Some credit cards will provide auto rental insurance as an added perk. Popular credit cards with this feature include Chase Sapphire, Capital One Venture X, and American Express, according to NerdWallet . What Did the Viewers Think About This? 'Go through your car insurance, also I'd fight them on this 1000% but next time please buy the protection,' one suggested. 'Previous Enterprise employee here, do NOT add the insurance protection—that's literally how they make their money,' one shared. 'PSA from a fellow military spouse, the young renter fee is waived for military members and extended to spouses! I started renting cars at 19 and have never paid the fee!' one revealed. 'You rented a car and didn't get insurance, it has nothing to do with age,' one added. This TikTok has more than 34,500 likes. Motor1 has contacted Faith (@faithmariespillers) over email and Instagram Messenger. We'll update this story if we hear back. Now Trending 'She Just Bought This Car': Mechanic Works on 2018 Ford Edge With 92,000 Miles, Then It Starts Misfiring 'Missed My Bonus By One Car Deal': Dodge Salesman Says May Was Terrible For Sales. Here's Why Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . 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BBC News
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Broadstairs mum meeting MPs over graduated driver campaign
The mother of a teenager who died in a crash in Kent is meeting MPs to promote a campaign which would see young new drivers become subject to stricter Entwistle, from Broadstairs, lost her son Ethan two days before his 19th birthday when the car he was a passenger in crashed into a Entwistle is among a group of bereaved families who will meet MPs on Thursday to advance the case for graduated driver want to extend the learner driver period, ban new drivers aged 17-19 from carrying "peer-aged" passengers for six months and make motorway and rural road experience mandatory during lessons. Ms Entwistle said: "We hope that all the MPs we speak to will back us."She said that the campaign petition, which had just over 103,000 signatures when first brought to Parliament in April, now has nearly 108,000 supporters. "Our main hope is they [MPs] actually formalise and put graduated driving licences in place," Ms Entwistle said, adding: "I won't stop pushing until something changes."According to national road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, a fifth of all collisions in 2023 involved a young driver."Statistics also show that young male drivers are proportionately most likely to have an accident in between the age of 16 and 24," said spokesperson Harriet Hernando.A campaign by Ms Entwistle and other local residents saw Kent County Council introduce extra speed restriction measures around the site where Ethan crashed on Dumpton Park efforts have been made to get a community speedwatch group up and running. This went live in March, meaning there is now a police-issued speed monitoring device near the driver of the car Ethan was a passenger in admitted to causing death by dangerous driving on Tuesday. The Department for Transport said it recognised the increased risks faced by young people on the roads but it was "not considering graduated driving licences".
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Almost 300 killed or badly hurt by speeding drivers in N Ireland in four years
Almost 300 people have been killed or seriously injured by speeding drivers across Northern Ireland in recent years. From 2019 to 2023, 30 people were killed and 267 people were seriously hurt in collisions caused by speeding. According to the figures from the Department for Infrastructure, young people, aged between 16 and 24, accounted for 41% of those killed or seriously injured due to speeding in that time, while males accounted for 64%. They also show 70% of serious speeding collisions happened on rural roads, and that males were responsible for over three-quarters (77%). The Newry, Mourne and Down local government district had the highest annual rate (6.5) of speeding casualties per 100,000 resident population, while Belfast had the lowest (1). Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins described the figures as a 'sad and stark reminder to us all of the human cost of speeding' and urged a change in behaviour on the roads. 'Too many people are affected by serious road traffic collisions in our communities,' she said. 'Sadly, these figures show that young people and males are disproportionately affected – our children, among them our brothers, fathers and sons. ' One of the best ways to fulfil our long-term goal of eliminating death and serious injury by 2050 is by changing road user behaviour. 'We must all slow down and take better care on our roads. 'Today's figures are another sad and stark reminder of the importance of reducing our speed as road users because this will in turn help to reduce the number of families devastated by serious road traffic collisions.' DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, who chairs the Assembly Infrastructure Committee, said the figures should provoke a more co-ordinated approach to making our roads safer. 'These statistics make for sobering reading,' she said. 'Behind each of these figures is a family left grieving or a person living with life-altering injuries. My thoughts are with all those who have suffered loss or trauma. 'As chair of the Infrastructure Committee, I am calling for greater urgency and coordination between the minister and all stakeholders, including the PSNI. 'Tackling speeding must be a strategic priority, not just a policing issue, with a cross-departmental approach, involving education and enforcement. One death on our roads is one too many. 'There is a role for all of us. Slowing down, staying alert, and respecting other road users are basic responsibilities that save lives. We need to change attitudes, especially among those who see speed as a measure of confidence or skill. It isn't – it is a killer.'
