Extra police put the brakes on young drivers

Increased police patrols on the country's roads do make a difference to young motorists' driving habits.

More than a quarter of drivers interviewed in a nationwide survey - by one of the country's leading breakdown services - say any increased police presence results in more careful driving.

In the latest new survey for Autonational Rescue, 40% of younger drivers said that they drove more carefully as a result but 10% regarded any increased activity as persecution.

For a significant proportion of all motorists, however, extra patrols make no difference at all, especially among the more experienced drivers.

Half of those in the 45-54 age bracket and 47% of 35-44 year-olds stated they were not affected by any increase in police activity.

Neither did motorists generally feel significantly safer as a result of the extra attention with only 20% saying they felt more secure as a result.

Said Autonational's marketing manager Ronan Hart: "Any improvement in driving habits has to be welcomed however it is achieved.

Unfortunately it sometimes needs the sight of a police patrol vehicle to jog motorists' memories and make people drive with more care and attention."

The independent survey was carried out across the UK by CAPI Omnibus based on a representative sample of around 1,000 adults at 72 sampling points.

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