Road safety for young drivers has rarely received more attention from insurers, regulators and the government than it is getting right now. A formal coroner’s report, a new national Road Safety Strategy and a major industry consultation have all landed in the past six months, putting the spotlight on how the insurance sector can do more to protect drivers in their first years on the road. This article sets out what the current data tells us about risk, how telematics insurance, including black box policies, fits into the picture, and what the changes in 2026 mean for young drivers and their families.
Young drivers and road risk: the numbers
Young drivers have always accounted for a disproportionate share of road casualties, but the picture is more nuanced than headline figures alone suggest.
According to the Department for Transport’s younger driver factsheet for 2024, published in September 2025, drivers aged 17 to 24 were involved in 22% of all fatal car collisions in Great Britain that year, and 4,740 people were killed or seriously injured in crashes involving a young driver.
But there is also a longer-term story worth knowing. Young driver killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties have fallen by 61% since 2004, a reduction that outpaces the 37% decline seen among older drivers over the same period. The rise of telematics-based insurance policies over the past decade coincides with this improvement, though it is one of several contributing factors.
The risk is not spread evenly across the young driver group. DfT data highlights several consistent patterns:
- Young male drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured per billion miles driven than drivers aged 25 and over.
- 49% of young driver KSI collisions occur on rural roads, compared with 42% for older drivers.
- 17% of young drivers involved in KSI collisions were not wearing a seatbelt: the highest proportion of any age group.
- Travelling too fast for conditions is recorded as a factor in 20% of young driver fatal and serious crashes, compared with 9% for other drivers.
What is telematics insurance, and what is a black box?
Telematics is the broad term for technology that combines telecommunications and data to gather and transmit vehicle information. In insurance, a telematics policy uses driving data to build a picture of how a car is being driven, and that data is then used, in various ways, when pricing or reviewing a policy.
A black box is one specific type of telematics device: a small physical unit that is professionally fitted to the car, usually behind the dashboard or in the glove box. It records data including speed, braking, acceleration, cornering behaviour and journey times, and sends that information to the insurer. A separate option is a plug-in telematics device, which the driver fits themselves into the car’s OBD port and works in a broadly similar way. Both approaches involve a physical device in the vehicle.
For many young drivers, the appeal of this type of policy is the opportunity to demonstrate safer driving through the data the device collects. How that data is used, and whether it leads to any change in premium over time, will vary between insurers and depends on individual driving behaviour. What matters is that drivers understand what the device records, how their data is used, and what they are agreeing to before taking out a policy.
Why telematics has come under the spotlight in 2026
In December 2025, a senior coroner issued a formal Prevention of Future Deaths report following a fatal road collision in Warwickshire involving a newly qualified driver. The report was addressed to several bodies including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). It raised concerns about inconsistency in how telematics is applied across the motor insurance sector, and about how clearly the safety benefits of telematics products are communicated to young drivers and their families.
The CII responded by launching a public consultation in May 2026, inviting views from insurers, brokers, road safety organisations and the public on how the sector can better use telematics to support safer driving by younger motorists. The consultation has framed young drivers as potentially vulnerable customers under FCA guidance, and the CII will use responses to develop professional standards across the sector. Guidance is expected to be published by the end of 2026.
This sits alongside the government’s publication in January 2026 of the first national Road Safety Strategy in over a decade. The strategy sets a target of a 65% reduction in killed and seriously injured casualties by 2035, and includes a consultation on a minimum learning period for newly qualified drivers. The government has confirmed it is not pursuing Graduated Driver Licensing, a tiered restrictions system for newly qualified drivers, in England, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland will, however, introduce its own graduated licensing scheme from October 2026, bringing in a minimum learning period, a 24-month restricted licence period and late-night passenger restrictions for drivers under 24.
Five risk factors every young driver should know
Government road safety data identifies several consistent factors that are particularly relevant to drivers in their first few years on the road. These are also the behaviours that a telematics device can help to monitor and, over time, prompt improvement in.
Rural roads
Nearly half (49%) of young driver KSI collisions occur on rural roads. Higher speeds, less predictable hazards and longer distances to emergency services all play a part.
Night driving
Research consistently shows that young drivers, and particularly young men, face significantly higher crash risk during late-night hours. Driving between 2am and 5am is associated with a sharply elevated collision rate compared with other times of day.
Carrying passengers
Research into newly qualified driver crashes shows that carrying peer-aged passengers increases crash risk. This is one of the reasons Northern Ireland’s new graduated licensing scheme includes restrictions on carrying passengers late at night for young drivers.
Seatbelt use
17% of young drivers involved in serious and fatal collisions were not wearing a seatbelt: the highest rate of any age group in DfT data. Wearing a seatbelt on every journey is one of the most effective safety steps any driver can take.
Mobile phone use
According to THINK! research from the government’s road safety campaign, using a handheld mobile phone while driving makes a driver four times more likely to crash. A 2025 RAC survey found that 49% of drivers under 25 admitted making handheld calls while driving in the past year.
What this means if you’re looking for young driver insurance
If you are looking for car insurance as a young driver, it is worth understanding how telematics works and whether a black box or plug-in device policy might suit your situation.
The growing regulatory and industry focus on how telematics products are sold and explained is a positive development for young drivers and their families. The CII consultation, due to produce formal guidance by the end of 2026, should lead to clearer standards across the sector about how black box and plug-in telematics policies are communicated and applied.
At MyFirst, we specialise in car insurance for young and new drivers. If you’re comparing your options, our team can help you find the right cover.
