2Young2Die

Driver deaths and injuries chart and discussion ideas

Print off this chart here.
Use it in discussion groups with young drivers, or young people who are considering whether to drive or not. Below are some suggested ways to lead such a discussion.

Why does it happen?

Ask the group to consider, and discuss and answer among themselves, the following questions:

Why do we think young people are much more likely to die or be injured than older people?
Why do we think young males are much more likely to die or be injured than young females?
What are the positive and negative influences on young driver behaviour?
On what kinds of roads, and in what kind are crashes, are young drivers most likely to die?
Who else is likely to die in crashes that kill and injure young drivers?
What kind of life-changing injuries and causes of death result from road crashes?
What are the costs to society of deaths and injuries of young drivers?

Research
To support the discussion outlined above, you can ask young people to carry out online research into the extent of the carnage. Most countries' government departments of transport publish on line road crash death and injury statistics, often by age, gender, and type of road and vehicle, but sometimes in even more detail, such as time of day and weather conditions as well as causes of crashes. If you are working in a school or college, these statistics can form the basis of useful geography or maths projects. As an example, view UK crash stats here.

You can also encourage young people to study research by psychologists which analyses the reasons why young drivers are more likely to take risks and consequently die and be injured. You can access many research reports from universities around the globe through Brake's Road Safety Library.

Another way to get young people thinking about possible negative influences on behaviour is to get them to collect and discuss unhelpful messages in the media such as pro-speed messages in car magazines and movies.

Imagine
One effective way to engage young people in the extent of the carnage is to lead an 'imagine' session, where you ask participants to break into small groups and imagine the effects of a death or life changing injury on themselves, their family, and society as a whole. 

Questions to explore:
How would you feel watching your girl friend / boyfriend die next to you and how might this affect your life?
How would you feel if you killed a child who'd run into the road after a ball and how might this affect your life?
How you you feel if you woke up to find your legs amputated and how might this affect your life?
How would you feel if you were a fire officer having to attend fatal crashes every week and retrieve body parts from the road?
How would you feel if you had a police officer on your doorstep telling you your mother had been killed by a drug driver, and how might this affect your life?
How would it affect your family if they were told you had died in a road crash?

Before running such a session, it's responsible to check whether anyone in the room has been affected by a serious injury or sudden death, and consequently may find the session distressing, and ask them if they would like to be excused.

A valuable tool to assist the above is a collection of local newspaper cuttings, or local broadcast reports about crashes in your region. Another tool is the video stories from road crash victims and emergency services available by by clicking the video button at the top of this site. You can also go to Brake's main site and read a collection of thoughts and statements from road crash victims in Your Memories.