Young drivers are not the most dangerous cohort on the roads - inexperienced drivers are, an expert has said.

Statistics released by AXA say that younger drivers are 85% more likely to be involved in a road accident than older drivers.

However, one car expert has said the trouble lies with inexperience and has nothing to do with a person’s age.

On The Hard Shoulder, editor of completecar.ie, Shane O’Donoghue, said that while the statistics don’t lie, it's not just young drivers that are more dangerous, it’s also inexperienced drivers.

“With anything in life, if you're inexperienced you're not going to be as good at it as other people who've been doing it for a long time - and the same applies to driving,” he said.

“It just so happens that driving has a massive knock on effect on everybody else on the road and as potentially catastrophic consequences - which is why these things are being talked about.

“The stats don't lie but every single day you're seeing really poor driving on the roads and that's nothing to do with age, whatsoever, it varies in gender, in age, in everything - it doesn't matter.”

Young man using his phone while driving the car. Image: Alamy

Also on the show, Newstalk reporter Alex Rowley said the standard of driving has “gone shocking”.

“I see drivers of all ages engaging in bad behaviour, not just young people, people who are middle aged as well, people who are older,” he said.

“Sometimes it's bad behaviour, sometimes it's simply I think people just don't know how to drive and the standard of driving has gone shocking.

“Something you notice when you're on the road a lot is observation - simple things like checking your mirrors, checking your blind spots - the amount of times that people make unnecessary moves on the road and endanger others just because they're in a rush and where they need to go is more important, and they don't look - simple as.”

Garda traffic checkpoints on the Athgarvan Road in Newbridge, County Kildare this morning. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

Alex mentioned that a few months ago Euro NCAP, who provide safety ratings on cars, said that touch screens have become a distraction for drivers as well.

“If you think about a few years ago, the brand new car you were getting, they might have a touch screen for your music, but your air conditioning was a physical button, your radio was a physical button and you knew where it was, so you didn't take your eye off the road” he said.

“Now, they're all hidden in menus in new cars and you [have to] take your eyes off the road just to make your seat warmer.”

Gardai stop motorists pictured at a Garda checkpoint on Chapelizod Road, Dublin. 14/03/2022 Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Both men said there is a huge issue with a lack of roads policing in Ireland.

“Only last week I reported here in Newstalk about the fact that we were promised 75 new roads policing Gardaí last year and we only got 23,” Alex said.

“Everybody I spoke to said you never see the guards out and about enforcing the rules of the road - you might drive past one the odd time and they're probably on their way to do something else.

“So the answer is people don't fear the guards, people don't have the fear of getting caught, they don't have the fear when they're using their phone while driving.

“I'm not saying I'm perfect either, I think we've all tipped over a speed limit here or there, but you're more likely to do it if you're not seeing the guards around - all we're seeing is speed vans in the same location every single time.”

Teenager with license driving car with adult sitting in passenger seat. Image: Daisy-Daisy / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr O’Donoghue said he is “blue in the face” from talking about enforcement of the rules of the road.

“The problem is that it snowballs - one example is for instance on a really busy road, the big empty bus lane on the left, one person ducks in there and then the next day they realise, ‘I’ve got away with that now for a few days in a row, I'm just going to do that’,” he said.

“The next thing you know, they're speeding in the bus lane, then somebody else sees them do it every day, and they go, ‘Do you know what? There's no guards around’.

“It snowballs and it means a small infraction, as they might be called, suddenly becomes the norm.

“So therefore what is a bigger infraction is only slightly outside the norm and it just leads to worse driving standards and I think this is at the core of our issue in Ireland right now.”

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The M50 motorway in Dublin. Image: Peter Cavanagh / Alamy Stock Photo