New research programmes for the safety of young people who drive for a living is being introduced by employers who are eager to reduce work related road accidents and van insurance claims.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents announced it was still looking for leaders whose workforces consist of drivers aged between 17 and 24 years old.

Duncan Vernon, road safety manager with the organisation said: “Most employers are identifying reasons why they feel the learner test does or does not adequately prepare young people for at-work driving.”

A greener world

Meanwhile in other attempts to reduce van insurance costs, van insured drivers who are keen to be as environmentally- friendly as possible can now check out the carbon emissions of their vehicles via the web.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) have produced a CO2 product which can be accessed on its website and allows drivers to compare the emissions of different models and makes.

BVRLA launched its own guide to aid people when purchasing a new van. Jay Parmer, head of legal services commented: “We hope this online tool will fill some of the information vacuum faced by UK van buyers.”

BVRLA set up this new tool because the group has been calling on manufacturers to make this information available for a year, but van makers told the organisation that there was an agreement to supply this data, but it would not be released until 2009. Evidently, BVRLA couldn’t wait to make a change.

New Van Model

Meanwhile, the van drivers who have not yet turned green-total may be impressed with the new Volkswagen model.
Van insurance customers may be tempted to trade in their current model for a Volkswagen vehicle after hearing about the manufacturer’s performance at a recent awards ceremony.

The firm collected two honours at the What Van? Vans of the Year Awards 2008. The caddy was highly praised in the Light Van category and the Caddy Maxi was named Editor’s Choice.

Prices for the vehicle start at £10,750 and offers 3.2 cubed metres of load space along with a payload of up to 724 kg.

Meanwhile, the new Caddy Maxi was released earlier this year and provided 4.3 cubed metres load space and a payload of up to 800 kg.

Simon Elliot, a spokesman for the company talked about Volkswagen’s delight with the reception the model received: “We're delighted that two more Volkswagen Vans have received award recognition. This is good news for us, our customers and our Van Centres.”

Earlier this month, Volkswagen unveiled its second generation Gold Plus at the Bologna Motor Show.