Qld: 17 24 year olds make up 24 per cent of road deaths

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-1999
Qld: 17 24 year olds make up 24 per cent of road deaths

BRISBANE, Dec 11 AAP - Young drivers under the age of 25 made up almost a quarter of
the Queensland road toll in 1999, Transport and Main Roads Minister Steve Bredhauer said
today.

Mr Bredhauer said young Queensland drivers were over-represented in the road toll primarily
because of risk taking, peer group pressure and lack of experience and skill.

"So far this year, 71 people between the ages of 17 to 24 have been killed on our roads,"

said Mr Bredhaur at the launch of the AAMI Skilled Drivers program.

"Up until the end of September, 831 have been hospitalised. This represents 24 per
cent of the entire road toll."

Mr Bredhauer said one of the key messages his department wanted young drivers to remember
was that learning driving skills did not end with the granting of a licence.

He said AAMI's offer of a free one-day defensive driving course to all under-25 year-old
policy holders was a practical and tangible way to improve the skills of young motorists.

AAP ch/it

KEYWORD: YOUNG

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