18- to 24-year-olds : young drivers.

The fatality rate (fatalities per distance travelled) of young drivers (18- to 24-year-olds) is more than five times higher than that of drivers between the ages of 30 and 59 years. The fatality rate of young males is even as much as ten times higher. The high risk of young drivers is due to both lack of experience and to age-related factors. The latter include the development of the brain, their extra sensitivity to the social environment and the effect of factors such as alcohol, drugs and distraction. In relation with driving experience, young drivers have inadequate higher-order skills such as hazard perception and being capable of adjusting the risk to their own abilities. In the past fifteen years, different measures have been implemented in Netherlands to improve the safety of young novice drivers. Important issues for the young drivers of the future stem from developments like social media, increasing traffic volumes and vehicle automation