It's easy to get carried away when you first learn to drive - unfortunately this can lead to problems for yourself as a young driver – including accidents or speeding offences, resulting in an increase in your young driver insurance premium.
Whilst you remember practically everything that you were taught when learning to drive it's all too easy to slip into bad habits.
Inevitably this includes speeding...
It's really important to be aware of the driving speed limit at all times as this will help to keep you safe whilst on the road.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has recently issued a number of tips for young drivers courtesy of Peter Rodger, their chief examiner.
To manage your speed you should:
• Be aware of the speed limit and watch out for any changes by looking further ahead. This tends to happen at junctions and roundabouts.
• Always be aware of what other drivers are doing in front of you. For example, some motorists could slow down a lot quicker than anticipated when approaching speed cameras. Make sure you give drivers in front plenty of room so that you can react in time.
• Remember - speed limits are a maximum speed, not minimum. If conditions are poor then it's vital that you reduce your speed to avoid accidents.
• If you have problems sticking to a set speed limit in a manual car then simply set the car in a gear that will help you to stick to a legal speed limit. For example, built-up areas such as towns and cities have a speed limit of 30mph. It makes sense to set your gear to third or lower in some cases.
• Don't let other motorists behind you pressure you into breaking the speed limit - it's just not worth the risk. Whether you get caught speeding by the police or end up in a serious accident as a result - either way the results are not stacked in your favour.
• You should always drive at a speed that you will allow you to stop safely on your own side of the road within the distance you can see is clear.