Young driver crashes kill or injure 23,000 people in just five years

More than 23,000 people have been killed or seriously injured in crashes involving a young driver in the past five years, police have said. 

Analysis of Department for Transport data from 2021 to 2025 show that around 7,500 casualties were young drivers themselves - aged between 17 and 24 - while more than 4,000 were passengers in vehicles driven by young motorists.

More than 11,600 - about half of all those killed or seriously injured - were other road users, including people in other vehicles and pedestrians.

About a fifth of all road accidents that end with death or serious injury involve drivers aged 17 to 24.

The government figures also show that nearly a third of motorists in that age bracket who were involved in crashes where someone was killed or seriously injured (KSI) were in single-vehicle accidents, compared with 23% of all drivers.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said that weekends and evenings are thought to be high-risk times, while twice as many KSI incidents take place on rural roads than urban ones.

Parents can play 'important' role

As part of Operation Spotlight - a national scheme timed to coincide with the start of the academic year, darker nights and worsening weather - police are urging parents to continue to supervise their children's driving in the months after they pass their test.

Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier, deputy national coordinator in the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, said: "Young drivers are disproportionately represented in serious and fatal collisions, despite driving substantially fewer miles than the average driver.

"Inexperience and the inability to assess risk are two of the most impactful factors in young driver safety on the roads and every decision taken when driving a vehicle has an impact so this is where parents and peers can be influential.

"Collectively we can support young people to use vehicles and the roads safely, maintaining their independence, helping them to develop their skills and ultimately reducing the risk of harm."

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Behavioural scientist Dr Elizabeth Box highlighted that the first months of independent driving are "particularly important", adding: "Passing the driving test is an important milestone, but it isn't the point at which learning ends."

"Young drivers are still developing the experience and judgment that help them recognise and manage risk.

"Parents and guardians can play an important role during this transition by helping young drivers manage their exposure to risk while that experience develops."

In Northern Ireland, graduated driving licences are being introduced next month, including a six-month wait between getting a provisional licence and taking a practical test, as well as restrictions on carrying passengers at night and displaying an R plate for two years.

Similar schemes in countries such as Australia, Canada, parts of the US and several Scandinavian countries have helped reduce the number of crashes involving young drivers by as much as 40% in some places.

The Department for Transport said it is consulting on several possible measures, including "minimum learning periods, lowering the alcohol limit for novice drivers, and cracking down on drug driving".

A social media trend

Concerns have been raised in recent months over posts on social media appearing to celebrate reckless driving.

Last month, seven people - including two police officers - were killed in a collision involving a vehicle driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway on the A66 near Middlesbrough.

However, Commander Kyle Gordon, national coordinator at the National Roads Policing Coordination Centre, said that dangers posed by young drivers is not a new phenomenon.

He said: "Long before any of us had smartphones in our pockets, long before any of us knew what an Instagram post was, insurance companies absolutely understood just how dangerous young people could be on the road in the wrong circumstances.

"Young people, for all sorts of reasons, some that are nothing to do with themselves, just their biology and their makeup, are just more dangerous on the road until they understand that risk."

(c) Sky News 2026: Young driver crashes kill or injure 23,000 people in just five years