Campaign launched to reclaim 'drive safely' to save under 25s from life-changing crashes

• Admiral is empowering families to have meaningful conversations about driving safely as new data reveals drivers under 25 years old are twice as likely on average to claim for a crash involving a serious injury 
• ‘It could happen to your family’: Admiral launches emotional film to highlight devastating impact of reckless driving on young people and families  
• New police data reveals car injuries and fatalities among young drivers (aged 17-24) still ‘too high’, barely dropping between 2022 and 2023 
• Car crash survivor Michael Thompson, who suffered life changing injuries when he was 21, shares his story and road to recovery 
• TV psychotherapist and best-selling author, Ella McCrystal, shares how ‘actionable’ language can help families to have meaningful ‘conversations’ about road safety, as over half (54%) say they do this rarely or never 

As a new wave of young drivers take to the road this school year, new claims data on serious injuries from Admiral Car Insurance reveals crashes involving young drivers are ‘still too high’.  

Admiral’s own data shows drivers under the age of 25 are nearly twice as likely to make a claim for a crash involving a serious injury than a driver over 25, on average. Admiral has launched a campaign to empower young people and their families to have meaningful conversations about safe driving to help reduce the number of serious collisions among younger age groups. The campaign is driven by new UK national research that reveals the words ‘drive safely’ have lost their meaning and that over half (54%) of families rarely or never have meaningful ‘chats’ about road safety, unless it’s before a longer journey. 

As part of the campaign, Admiral is raising awareness with an emotional film that shows the devastating impact on young people and their families and suggests that no driver is invincible. The film also alludes to some of the most common causes of accidents (The Fatal Five) among young people including – carelessness, speeding, and drink driving. In fact, Admiral’s research reveals that three in 10 (29%) parents of 17- to 24-year-olds have been in a collision where the other driver was within that same age bracket as their child. 

Accidents involving younger drivers are not decreasing as they should 

New data from UK police forces also reveals that the total number of serious car injuries and fatalities among young people (aged 17-24) has barely changed from 2022 to 2023. This is despite the introduction of legislation including increased penalties for causing death by dangerous driving and tighter restrictions for phone usage on the road hoping to promote safer driving. The latest data from Department for Transport (DfT) also found that a fifth of all killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties from collisions involving cars involved a young car driver - and young male drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with motorists aged over 25.  

To combat this, Admiral is reminding families why conversation is key 

Michael Thompson, from Newcastle, experienced life changing injuries in a road collision at just 21 years old – some of which Michael still lives with today, 11 years later. 

Michael says: “The impact of the crash didn’t just affect me - it changed my parents' lives too. That’s why it’s so important that we look deeper beyond the words “drive safely”. My mam used to have her own business which she had to give up to care for me, as I needed 24 hour care at first and had various mental and physical problems. My dad had to work a 4-day week to help. As a result, they have to take me everywhere. Basically, their lives had to revolve around mine.” 

In his road to recovery, Michael was supported by his local branch of Headway: the brain injury association that works to improve life after brain injury, by providing vital support and information. Admiral has teamed up with Headway for the campaign to drive home the importance of safety on the roads and remind young drivers of the lasting impacts that accidents can cause.  

Admiral’s research found that part of the issue is that the words ‘drive safely’, or similar phrases, have lost their meaning through overuse, finding that four in five (78%) parents tell their children to ‘drive safely’ most times before they drive a car. But two in five (39%) don’t believe their words make any difference - claiming the term has become a ‘meaningless mantra’ for their children. 

To empower people to reclaim the meaning of these words, Admiral has partnered with TV psychotherapist and best-selling author, Ella McCrystal,  who shares guidance on how ‘actionable language’ can help families to have meaningful ‘conversations’ about safe driving. 

Adam Gavin, Head of Claims at Admiral, adds: “Day in, day out our Claims team witnesses the devastating impact that serious accidents have on young people’s lives and the lives of their families. Speaking with survivors, like Michael, helps us to truly understand the real impact of life changing crashes and our campaign film tackles this upsetting issue and encourages us, as drivers, to think twice before brushing off reminders to ‘drive safely’. We hope that by empowering families to have meaningful and honest conversations around safe driving, we will see these types of accidents starting to reduce. To find out how to have meaningful conversations about road safety and for more advice on road safety , visit admiral.com/drivesafely.” 

The ‘Fatal Five’ - the leading causes of road accidents among young people 

Exploring the leading causes behind road accidents, Admiral’s research revealed that concerns from parents closely aligned with the Fatal Five - a phrase used commonly by police forces across the UK highlighting the five main contributory factors that cause serious road traffic collisions. Alarmingly, the research also uncovered a vast number of young drivers admitting to these behaviours: 

Data from Department for Transport found that in line with the above, certain behaviours leading to road accidents were much more common for younger drivers - with exceeding the speed limit occurring 2.5x as much for younger drivers, and careless/reckless driving occurring nearly twice as much. 

Accident rates vary largely by region, according to Admiral’s data 

Admiral’s own car claims data found that in 2023, young drivers living in areas of Bradford, Sheffield, London, Birmingham and Greater Manchester saw the highest frequency for serious injury claims. A quarter of young drivers in Yorkshire (25%) and London (24%) stated they have experienced close accident calls. 

Parents and young people’s views on measures to reduce serious accidents 

Admiral also spoke to parents and young people about driving laws they’d like to see introduced: 

Admiral’s Drive Safely page (admiral.com/drivesafely) aims to empower parents and young drivers to have meaningful conversations to help avoid the main causes of serious car accidents. Find advice from Psychotherapist Ella McCrystal and watch the powerful Words to Live By film that aims to put the meaning back into ‘drive safely’.