We’ve been talking to a lot of young road users recently for a variety of projects around driving habits and road safety.
Any conversation with newer drivers always needs to allow time and space for us to get beneath the familiar tendencies and biases: the curious and paradoxical mixture of novice’s underconfidence and youthful overconfidence; the natural, instinctive tendency to blame others for any incidents.
However, beyond this it was evident that they felt something else was going on. Many, even those who’d only recently passed their tests, painted a picture of the roads as a battlefield. Car vs car. Every person for themselves. They argued that the social contract on the roads was being ripped up, or in their experience had never existed. Drivers now seemed focused on looking after themselves regardless of the impact on others.
Putting aside the worrying safety implications of this for just a second, there’s a deeper issue here. Roads aren’t just about getting from A to B – they’re one of the ways we connect the disparate parts of our lives together. We use them to go to work, visit friends and family, attend weddings, go on holidays. Yes, environmentally speaking we should probably use them less and the trains more, but they bring us together. They’re an essential element of our lives, and those of the communities around us whether we like it or not.
Roads connect us but are dangerous if we don’t use them well, and don’t think of other users. So what happens when a new generation of drivers believe others on the road aren’t thinking of their wellbeing? It can’t end well.
The solution to this can’t only be about educating young drivers. There is, of course, a role for education and enforcement but, as with so many things the answer has to be: all of us. It’s all of us already on the roads who have somehow agreed on the little nods, waves and flashes that accompany the small acts of kindness and making way on the roads. It’s all of us who get out of the way of ambulances and fire engines; who cut a learner driver some slack as they stall for the third time on a roundabout. And it’s all of us who need to demonstrate how tailgating, running red lights or speeding are unacceptable. Not something they can aspire to once they’ve a little more experience under their belts.
It's all of us who set the norms right now, and establish the kind of drivers they aim to be. Because when the roads are collaborative and journeys feel shared, rather than combative and isolated, it’s all of us who benefit.
The Nursery Social is a new team that builds on our reputation as pioneers in brand and communications research. We combine commercial expertise with an understanding of social issues, policy and community.
We believe in citizen-powered research. Our aim is to take on tough challenges, ask tricky questions, fill in the gaps. This means placing citizens, everyday people, at the heart of what we do, because they’re the ones we’re relying on.