PRESENTERS: Lizzie Copp, Head of Transport & Infrastructure (Research Director), Ipsos UK & Ed Allen, Associate Director and Head of Innovation, Ipsos Public Affairs UK.
Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) has long been recognised internationally as an effective measure for improving the safety of newly qualified drivers. Yet while the evidence supporting GDL is strong, questions remain about public acceptance, particularly among the young people who would be directly affected by such schemes.
In this webinar, researchers from Ipsos UK will present the findings of a deliberative research project commissioned by the RAC Foundation, exploring the attitudes of young people towards Graduated Driver Licensing. The study involved sixty-six participants aged 17 to 19, including learner drivers, newly qualified drivers and non-drivers, and examined their views on potential restrictions and safeguards designed to improve safety during the earliest stages of independent driving.
The webinar will explore how young people perceive road risk and why support for GDL remains challenging despite evidence of its safety benefits. The research found that participants generally accepted that young drivers face a higher crash risk, but many attributed this risk to the behaviour of a minority of reckless drivers rather than to age or inexperience. As a result, many participants were reluctant to support measures they believed would unfairly affect responsible young drivers.
The session will also discuss how attitudes evolved during the research process. Participants became more receptive to some aspects of GDL when presented with evidence from international schemes and were generally more supportive of changes to the learning period, such as introducing a minimum period of supervised practice before taking the practical test. However, measures applied after passing the driving test, particularly passenger restrictions, continued to generate greater resistance.
- Time: 18 March 2027, Time TBC
- Fee: This members-only event is free-of-charge
- Location: online
- Working language: English
- Registration: The deadline for registrations is 16 March 2027