Young drivers - opportunity for analysis and evaluation

Have you, like me, ever been irked by the realisation that A level Economics does not represent the single most important aspect of a young person's life when they are sat in your classroom? I know - it sounds incredible but it frequently seems that marginal social costs and concentration ratios do not appear to be the be-all-and-end-all of their preoccupations. My experience tells me that the second most important thing on a young person's mind is learning to drive a car. As such, the recent reports that the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is considering further regulation of access to driving for young people represents an opportunity to hone some analytical skills with our young students using a topic dear to their hearts.

Mr McLoughlin gave a fascinating interview to the Telegraph last week reminding us of the chilling statistics that are around - one in three serious road accidents involve people under the age of 25 whilst that age group only represents an eighth of the car-using population. Suggestions made include not allowing young people to transport anyone other than family members or possibly banning them from having any passengers. The theory goes that one of the significant causes of road accidents is young, relatively immature people taking high risks whilst showing off to their peers.

It struck me that a print out of Mr McLoughlin's interview and a showing of a 2 minute video from a representative of the AA (also available from the Telegraph here) would give a good opportunity to get some analytical debate going amongst our young students. What suggestions are being made by the Transport Secretary? What evidence does he use to give credence to his recommendations? What are the possible flaws in his suggestions? What other recommendations could your students give to Mr McLoughlin to combat the failure in the 'driving market' and what evaluation of those suggestions could be made?

Afterwards, you may want to show them this further article from the Telegraph giving details on new technology coming out that allows parents to restrict the speed of their child's car. Be warned, this may provoke a strong reaction!