Learner drivers and education
The government is mulling measures to address the standard of driving by both young and old drivers.
For those aged between 17 and 24, a group that suffers 24% of all road deaths and serious collisions, it will consult on a mandatory three- or six-month learning period before a driving test can be undertaken.
This is intended to help novices gain experience in a range of conditions, such as in wet or cold weather and at night.
Such a period is effectively already in force, owing to long waits for driving test slots in much of the nation. The average backlog for a practical test across Britain currently stands at 22 weeks.
However, the AA has told Autocar that a long-called-for policy to prevent new drivers from driving with a passenger, possibly for six months, “is a missed opportunity to save more lives”.
What’s more, the government wants to continue drivers’ education throughout their lifetimes – and the proposals include bringing such learning into the national curriculum as early as primary school.
The government also wants to bring in a ‘National Work-Related Road Safety Charter’. Covering road users from cyclists to HGV drivers, it would “reduce work-related road risk by promoting good practice, accountability and compliance with existing legislation”. This is expected to take the form of some kind of formal education, most likely an online course.