Male drivers in their 20s have been revealed as the worst drivers according to new figures from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).
It was that profile which emerged as the most common group to be disqualified from driving, with over a third of drivers handed a ban in the past year being male and aged between 20 and 30.
The IAM made a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA and found that in the 12 months up to the 21st June this year a total of 92,136 drivers received a disqualification, with 31,668 of those falling into the 20-30 year old male category. It seems that 25 is the optimum age for drivers subjected to a ban, with 3,748 25-year-old banned from the roads during that time. In total, around 62,000 drivers disqualified between July 2013 and June 2014 remain banned.
On the whole, men far outnumber females when it comes to committing driving offences which lead to a disqualification. Just 13,481 females were banned from driving during the time period in question, which equates to less than 15 per cent of the overall total. In the high-risk 20-30 age group only 4,333 women drivers were subject to a disqualification.
While in total 36,001 drivers aged between 20 and 30 were banned during this time, the figures fall considerably as the age bracket increases. There were 10,025 drivers aged between 50 and 60 banned during the 12 month period, with just 3,874 aged in their sixties.
The startling figures analysed by the IAM also showed 230 people aged under 17 were disqualified from driving, despite these being under the legal driving age in the UK. Four of those were aged just 12 years old.
Simon Best, chief executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “These statistics strongly reflect the research we have already carried out in this area – that young males are very much the at risk group when it comes to driving safety.
“We believe targeting the attitudes of these drivers specifically, through advanced training for example, should be a major part of future road safety campaigning. Reducing offending in this age bracket would dramatically improve safety on our roads for all road users.
“It is also of great concern that youngsters not even eligible to hold a provisional licence are being banned at such young ages. Parents need to be aware their children are putting their own lives and those of others at huge risk by taking the wheel of a car on public roads.”
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