Car crashes are biggest killer of young people bar illness, grim figures show

Marking the launch of the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety, the figures showed that road accidents are the biggest killer of the young other than illness.

The RAC said young people aged 15 to 24 are 17 times more likely to die on the roads than be fatally assaulted with a weapon, including guns and knives.

In 2009, a total of 2,605 people died in the UK in road accidents. While this was only 0.5 per cent of all deaths in that year, road accidents accounted for a quarter of all fatalities among those aged 15-19.

The AA said a survey showed that 90 per cent of its own members underestimated the risk of death that teenagers faced in cars, while 20 per cent of new drivers had a crash within 12 months of passing their test and a young driver was 10 times more likely to be involved in a serious collision than a more experienced motorist. Also newly-qualified drivers and their passengers account for one in five of all car deaths.

RAC Foundation director Prof Stephen Glaister said: “Day in, day out, seven people of all ages are being killed on the roads across the UK. We should regard this as intolerable and afford it the same attention as those other areas of untimely death which capture the imagination of politicians.”

Former Labour Cabinet Minister Lord Robertson, who is chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety, said: “The launch today of the Decade of Action for Road Safety is a very significant moment for humanity.

“This is the biggest killer of young people in the world today and the international community has decided enough is enough.”