Avoiding passenger injuries

Most of us are familiar with the situation. You are passenger in a friend's of family member's car and the driver is giving you cause to fear for your own personal safety. You don't want to cause offence or provoke an argument with the driver, but you also do not want to be in a position where you receive passenger injuries and are later forced to fight for 100% compensation.

While such a scenario will be familiar to the majority of the population, it is a particularly pertinent one to many of the UK's young people. Many find themselves moved to silence by peer pressure, risking passenger injuries by their unwillingness to speak up, while others will encourage that risk in the pursuit of cheap mortal thrills.

When you consider that people under the age of 21 are responsible for nearly 20% of all driving convictions in the UK, it is easy to understand why there have recently been calls to take action to curb young-driver associated hazards.

One school of thought argues that the Government should be raising the legal driving age, making driving tests more difficult and doing more to educate young people about road safety.

Another school of thought argues that restricting the number of passengers carried by young drivers could have the benefit of both encouraging responsible driving and reducing the incidence of passenger injuries.

Proponents of this approach are confident that will work effectively in several ways, ultimately leading to less passenger injuries and a simultaneous reduction in the need for 100% compensation payouts.

Predicted benefits
Placing restrictions on the ability of young drivers to carry passengers presents a myriad of potential benefits.

If young drivers are forced to drive alone, they are far less likely to take groups of their peers out for "joyrides". Furthermore, it has been found that young drivers are far less likely to wear seatbelts when ferrying their peers around. Not only does not wearing a seatbelt increase a motorist's risk of receiving personal injury in a car accident, if a driver who is not wearing a seatbelt is involved in a car accident that is not his or her fault, the principle of "partial responsibility" greatly reduces the chance of receiving 100% compensation.

It is also anticipated that this approach would prompt a decline in the number of car accidents attributable to young drivers drunk-driving. Seeing as this kind of car accident is a significant cause of the number of fatal and serious personal passenger injuries on UK roads, some find it easy to be swayed by this argument.

YouClaim's advice
Alex Boxall, passenger injury spokesperson with 100% compensation experts YouClaim, says, "My advice to any young person who fears for their safety while passenger with a dangerous driver is very simple.

"If, in the face of dangerous driving, you are concerned about your safety, it is best to be very calm but straightforward. Tell the driver your concerns, but if he or she doesn't change their approach, ask to get out. It is better to be forced to get a taxi, train or bus home than it is to risk passenger injuries and potentially even death."

Claiming 100% compensation for passenger injuries
If you have suffered personal injuries while passenger in a car accident then, regardless of who was driving, you are entitled to claim compensation.

YouClaim are among the leading UK experts in road accident injury litigation. Our no win, no fee solicitors work at absolutely no cost to you and are all regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Furthermore, they protect you from all costs emanating from the opposing legal side and will never take a cut of your compensation award.

No costs, no cuts, no fees it's our guarantee.

So why not get in touch with us today?

To get on the road to 100% compensation, simply call us now on 0800 10 757 95.

Alternatively, you can fill out an online claim form, request a call back or discuss your passenger injury claim on e-chat.