Starting your driving journey as a young driver can be daunting but also pretty exciting at the same time! Driving is ultimately a big responsibility as you are effectively driving what could be deemed a dangerous weapon. Cars are an important form of transport and shouldn’t be treated as toys as they can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. In this article we will look a the main challenges facing young drivers looking to get out on the open road with a motor.
Lack Of Experience And Hazards
So you’ve got your licence and pass certificate , bought a car and now you can tackle the autobahn right? wrong.. young drivers are increasingly passing their tests in some cases with under 20 hours of practical driving under their belt. Whilst this is good in financial senses as well as being able to pass quickly there are a number of issues which will quickly address themselves after passing your test.
New drivers out on the road should wear green pass plates if possible. These can make a difference and means that in some cases drivers are likely to give you more room and leeway overall. A key issue that many new drivers have is the motorway as well as rush hour driving. Many young drivers who have aced their test after only hours driving simply will not have the experience or confidence to take on these issues until having driven for several weeks at least. Furthermore lack of lessons can lead to some drivers becoming complacent and taking unnecessary risks such as speeding as they see themselves as a good driver due to passing quickly overall in their test.
Insurance
Unfortunately as a young driver in the UK insurance is astronomical. For drivers in the first year of driving at 18 prices can run into thousands due to the perceived risk of first time drivers despite many arguing that this is an outdated view used by insurance companies to charge higher rates. However it’s not all doom and gloom as there is a number of different things that you can do in order to ensure that your insurance is the best overall value for money.
One key tip for getting cheaper insurance is to buy a small hatchback or city type car with a low powered engine. Typically these cars are there lowest cost to ensure and often have fairly frugal running costs which can also benefit you e.g low road tax and fuel costs. This is bad news for petrol heads as larger capacity cars over 1 or 1.2 litre is likely to leave a sizeable hole in the wallet.
However a good way in which to reduce this cost is to get insured on a parents policy. This way you can significantly lower your costs and increase you chances of getting insured on a slightly more powerful car overall.
Buying A Car
Buying a car is one of the first steps new drivers take on their motoring journey. However buying a car can be a tricky business and requires research as well as time and money to ensure that you are getting a good deal. Some drivers may be lucky and have parents purchase them cars or attain one from a family member but for those young drivers buying new cars the market can be very expensive.
A major issue for young drivers is safety as many car dealers (some more reputable than others) sell “trade” vehicles ranging from a few hundred pounds to 2 or 3 thousand. Typically these vehicles aren’t always mechanically sound and will invetiably have hidden issues which is why they are priced low to sell.
For novice drivers it can be difficult to identify if a vehicle has any issues and so it is often advisable to bring along someone with a good knowledge of cars overall prior to making a purchase to ensure that everything is in good working order and that you are getting a good deal.