Young drivers avoid safety basics
Young Kiwi drivers are not taking responsibility for vehicle safety. Damien O’Carroll reports.
New research released recently says young drivers own older cars, but are far less likely to carry out basic safety checks, either leaving it to someone else or believing a warning light would alert them to any safety issues.
New data from Driver Safety New Zealand, based on research conducted using 601 New Zealand and Australian licence holders between 18 and 25, reveals that four out of five drivers aged 25 and under own a car that is more than a decade old.
Alarmingly, the research also revealed that even when faced with a specific issue like a broken headlight or worn windscreen wiper, young drivers are six times more likely to spend $50 on a meal out with friends than they would on fixing the issue and that 40 per cent say they have driven a car they knew had a safety issue.
In fact, young drivers are more likely to spend money cleaning their car than they are fixing a critical safety issue.
While it might be easy to write this off as an attitude problem, the research actually showed it was more a lack of skills and knowledge that proved to be the biggest safety barrier.
While a third of young drivers said they didn’t know anything about basic car checks, half believed being able to maintain their vehicle is an important skill that every driver should know, and three out of five young drivers currently without any car safety check knowledge said they were eager to learn what they should check and how.
‘‘Car crashes happen in an instant, and in that moment having a car in safe condition can be the difference between life and death,’’ said Driver Safety Australia and New Zealand founder and chief executive Russell White.
‘‘Every driver has a responsibility to ensure they’re taking precautions to keep themselves and those around them safe. Whether that’s tyre tread and being able to brake in time, or having adequate vision in different weather conditions with working wipers or headlights.’’
The research comes as Driver Safety New Zealand launches its annual ‘‘Check It’’ campaign and the organisation has teamed up with Supercheap Auto in an effort to raise awareness of younger drivers to the importance of undertaking regular vehicle safety checks.
The initiative launches today at Auckland’s Aotea Square and will feature a display of 57 hazard warning triangles to represent the number of breakdowns that happen across the country every hour, as well as a team of experts conducting free workshops for
❚ 89 per cent of New Zealanders aged 25 and under are driving a vehicle that is more than 5 years old, with four in five drivers owning a car that’s more than 10 years old.
❚ Almost 30 per cent of young drivers haven’t ever considered what they would do if their car suddenly broke down.
❚ More than a third do not have the knowledge to undertake any vehicle safety checks.
❚ While the majority knew how to check the car’s oil, less than half could check the car’s coolant, and only 20 per cent could check and address power steering and brake fluid.
❚ 25 per cent of young drivers don’t worry about undertaking any car safety checks themselves.
❚ One in 10 young drivers do not have their car serviced unless something breaks or if they can avoid it some other way.
❚ If faced with an issue, such as a warning light or suspected flat tyre, the majority are prepared to keep driving.
❚ More than half would run the risk simply because it was cold, dark or raining, while one in four would run the risk if they were running late for work or a social occasion.
❚ Young Kiwis are far better at undertaking their own vehicle checks. In Australia, 84 per cent of drivers aged 25 and under don’t perform their own safety checks, while in New Zealand this number drops to 66 per cent.
passersby on real cars.
On ‘‘National Check It Day’’, March 30, free training for young drivers will also be provided across Supercheap Auto’s 45 stores nationwide.