Commissions | Research for our Documentary

Now we had a much clearer idea on the focus of our documentary, we needed to look into the specific details of what we were going to talk about, particularly statistics and evidence for any claims we would be making.

Fortunately, the gov.uk website has a plethora of publicly-available statistics relating to driving and relevant to our documentary.  This was probably the best source of factual information we could get our hands on, as the statistics come straight from the government, and so apply to virtually everyone in the country.

As well as statistics from gov.uk, we also found information from moneysupermarket.com, confused.com and Admiral, which focus on economics and insurance, and so were vital sources of information for our work.  We also found articles by the BBC and the Telegraph to gauge attitudes toward driving as well.  Here is a summary of what we found:

• Government research has shown that of the 1.2-1.8 million people that take their practical driving test in a year, 43% of those are aged between 16 and 19.
• Over the past decade, the number of people taking their driving test has dropped by about 25% - we want to focus on why teenagers in particular may not be taking their driving test compared to teenagers of several decade ago.
• According to government surveys, there is little to no change in the proportion of people taking the bus, train or bicycle and so alternative means of transport do not seem to account for fewer young people taking up driving.
• As of the last few years however, these surveys have shown the general public has more of a willingness to walk for short journeys (less than two miles) instead of using a car.
• Statistics from confused.com show that after a steady decline from 2011 to 2014, the average cost of car insurance has been risen by around £200 (about 20%).
• Confused.com also shows us that the average premium for younger drivers is on the rise.
• For a 17 year old driver is £2,112 and the average premium for an 18 year old driver stands at £2,012 - whereas the average 34 and 68 year old driver pays £639 or £515 respectively.
• On average, men pay 12% more for their insurance premiums than women, suggesting that younger male drivers are subject to the most expensive insurance premiums.
• According to Admiral, 1 in 10 personal injury claims can be linked to ‘crash for cash’ scams. 
• The average cost of a driving lesson is now £24, and with the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) recommending 47 hours of tuition under the supervision of a professional instructor, the total cost of lessons for a learner will be £1,128.

We also thought that it would be useful to get some primary research of our own in the form of a survey.  This information would become vital in giving us opinions of the general public - the information would also be anonymous, which would theoretically mean that the people answering may be more inclined to answer honestly.  Here are the questions for the survey, the survey itself and the results (NOTE: any answers submitted now won't be included in our results because we have already finished the documentary):

• How old are you?
• What is your gender?
• Did you have access to a car as soon as you passed your driving test (within one month of passing)?
• How often do you drive?
• Do you own your own vehicle?
• How much did your vehicle cost?
• Are you currently insured on a vehicle?
• How much do you pay for car insurance every year?
• Do you feel you are paying too much for your car insurance? (Explain your answer)
• Do you feel black boxes are a good incentive to drive safer? (Explain your answer)
• Why do you drive?
• Could you continue your day-to-day activities without being able to drive?
• How often do you cycle?
• How often do you take the bus?
• How often do you take the train?
• Should the price for younger drivers be higher or lower than older drivers? (Explain your answer)
• Do you feel young people are, on average, more or less likely to drive dangerously than older drivers? (Explain your answer)

The survey was very useful in showing us viewpoints from various people in a short space of time, and we received responses from 144 people by the time we started shooting.  This gave us a good insight into the topics we wanted to raise in the script and the general attitude toward young drivers and black boxes from the sample group.