As ever-increasing insurance premiums continue to dominate the news, spare a thought for the predicament of young drivers facing huge bills just to get on the road.
It was a proud day for Ben Kinsey when he passed his driving test in December. Equipped with his new licence and 10-year-old, ?350 Fiat Punto, it seemed his days of relying on friends to ferry him about were over.
But, like the 448,000 other 17- to 22-year-olds who pass the UK driving test annually, he had reckoned without the motor insurance industry. It consistently quoted premiums way out of his reach and his despair plumbed new depths when, on one price comparison site, Aviva offered a premium of ?100,000 ? enough to buy that Fiat 285 times over?
On another comparison site the lowest quote was ?10,958. ?The figures are almost laughable,? Ben says. ?My car will just have to collect dust.?
Those who took to the roads a decade or two ago would find today?s situation shocking. Then, premiums costing a few hundred pounds were the norm and if that was too steep, most became ?named drivers? on their parents? policies before driving off on their first adventures.
Today the view over the bonnet is very different. Latest figures show that the average quote for a 17- to 22 year-old is ?2,750, although far higher quotes are commonplace. Figures from the AA show that premiums for this age range rose nearly 12 per cent in January and by nearly 15 per cent in July 2010. Over the past year, premiums for this age group rocketed by 58 per cent, while premiums rose an average of 40.1 per cent overall.
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