A QUARTER of people killed on North Yorkshire's roads this year were aged 21 or under, new figures have revealed.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said that although many of the young people were passengers in cars, he urged young motorists to be extra careful behind the wheel in an effort to reduce the number of young lives cut tragically short.

Since January, 15 drivers aged under 21, and passengers - including one 12-year-old - have died as a result of a car or motorcycle accidents in the county.

The figures come as a survey for Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) shows that in the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside, just over 21 per cent of those killed in road traffic accidents in 2002 were aged under 21.

Nationally 3,431 people were killed in road traffic accidents (RTAs) in 2002, of which 513 (15 per cent) fell into the 17-to-21 age bracket.

The police spokesman said: "It would be wrong to suggest that all young people who have died in road accidents have died firstly, because it was their fault, and secondly, because it was through immature driving.

"But the accident figures year-after-year do say that young people are more likely than any one else to have serious road accidents.

"We have 6,000 miles of roads in North Yorkshire and 90 to 100 people die on those roads every year.

"There's only one answer - education."

CIS has joined forces with road safety charity Brake to produce a road safety video to be shown at 2,000 schools, highlighting the consequences of drink-driving, drug-driving and speeding.

Mary Williams, chief executive of Brake, said: "The reasons for the higher risk of young drivers includes lower levels of driving skills, poor attitudes and behaviour, which lead to deliberate bad driving and unnecessary exposure to danger.

"Young people often think that they are invincible, particularly when driving a car. Sadly this is not the case, and as a result more young drivers (17 to 25 years) crash and die on our roads than any other age range."

Last month, North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and Selby and York Primary Care Trust joined forces to bring the road safety message, particularly for children and young people, to the public at supermarkets across the county.

Updated: 10:42 Tuesday, July 29, 2003