(Fri 04 Aug 06)

A new insurance scheme has been introduced by MORE>THAN to help reduce the risk of death or serious injury to younger drivers. Motorists aged between 18 and 25 represent around a tenth of the UK total, but they are involved in over a quarter of all accidents where a driver is killed or injured. (This is an extrapolation of Department of Transport statistics for 2004, which put the figure at 28% for drivers aged between 20 and 29.)

An even more disproportionate number of these accidents take place between the hours of 11pm and 6am. MORE>THAN's new scheme, called DriveTime, aims to do something about this. In return for a 40% discount on the company's standard premiums, drivers are asked not to use their cars between these times. This checked by a GPS device which is delivered and fitted free of charge, and sends messages to MORE>THAN whenever the engine is started or stopped.

If the car is used between 11pm and 6am, a £25 surcharge is automatically added to the premium - a powerful incentive to use some other form of transport instead.

"High accident rates for young drivers on the roads at night are a major issue and we have been working for some time to come up with a solution to reduce these," says Bryan Turner, Head of DriveTime at MORE>THAN. "DriveTime provides a fantastic way for young, safe drivers to avoid being on the roads at the most dangerous times and can also save them a significant amount off their insurance costs.

"We feel it's unfair that young people get tarred with the boy or girl racer tag when we know that many of them are safe drivers. We're confident that DriveTime will appeal to those who understand that leaving their car at home during night-time hours, when it is more dangerous to drive, is a smart choice. And we're sure they will welcome a way to save a significant amount off their car insurance."

DriveTime has the support of road safety charity Brake. "We need to find more innovative ways of preventing tragic deaths involving young drivers and their passengers on our roads," says Chief Executive Mary Williams. "We welcome the DriveTime scheme as an excellent first step towards reducing the exposure of young drivers to driving at particularly risky times of day.

"Brake is also urging the UK government to introduce 'graduated licensing', with a post-test period of restrictions on driving, to build up the ability and experience of young drivers gradually."

DriveTime is running as a pilot scheme, initially involving 2000 vehicles. If you want to be part of it, call MORE>THAN on 0800 294 8911, or visit www.morethan.com/drivetime.

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