Turning 17, these days, just means one thing – you can now learn to drive! The independence, the freedom, and the confidence that can come with driving makes learning to drive one of the most beneficial things to do. As a driver myself, I often say to people who are looking to start learning that it will be the best thing they ever invest time and money in.
The requirements of learning to drive are quite simple:
- You must hold a provisional driving licence
- You must be supervised when driving by a driving instructor or someone over the age of 21 who has held a full driving license for at least 3 years
- You must display “L” plates
Your driving instructor or supervisor has a duty to ensure that you are driving in a safe manner and therefore learner drivers should feel in safe hands when learning to drive: but the person sitting next to you in the car is not normally the problem.
Other road users can be very ignorant and impatient when it comes to learner drivers and therefore many road accidents can occur as a result of this ignorance and impatience. Although learner drivers have the same duty of care as other road users, other road users should still treat learner drivers with extra caution.
Learner drivers, for one, need more space. Other road users often tailgate and then when the learner driver reacts to something ahead by putting the brakes on (probably way in advance but they are learning), the vehicle behind collides with the rear of the learner driver.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it can be frustrating sometimes being stuck behind a learner driver but what many other road users forget is that they were in the exact same position once upon a time. Patience and space is the key to avoiding accidents with learner drivers – however some motorists just do not understand this! I for one was one of those learner drivers that panicked about when other road users following too closely, trying to overtake or just being rude and beeping their horn. This panic caused me to make more mistakes.
If you have been injured in an accident as a learner driver due to the impatience, ignorance or just plain carelessness of another road user then you are entitled to make a claim for compensation.
Your instructor or supervisor should have the insurance cover sufficient to cover you as a learner and therefore these details along with the details of the other party involved will likely be provided by your instructor or supervisor.
So get in touch with us here at The Injury Lawyers. We specialise in personal injury claims and have a wealth of experience in compensation claims. Therefore we regularly come across accidents involving learner drivers.
Our dedicated new claims team will be able to provide you with advice on your accident, if you call our claims line on 0845 634 75 75.
