Improving the safety and reducing risks to young drivers

The government has confirmed that it is going to launch a green paper on improving the safety and reducing risks to young drivers.

The government is expecting the changes to result in a reduction in the high cost of vehicle insurance currently facing motorists, especially young drivers.

The green paper, which will be published later this Spring, will look at a range of options for improving the safety of newly-qualified drivers, including:

• A minimum learning period before candidates are permitted to sit their test
• Enabling learner drivers to take lessons on motorways, and perhaps during adverse weather conditions or during darkness to encourage greater practice prior to taking a test
• Increasing the existing probationary period from two to three years for a new driver’s licence to be revoked if they receive six or more penalty points
• Making the driving test more rigorous to better prepare learners to drive unsupervised
• incentives for young drivers to take up additional training after passing their test.

The government is also considering the possibility of imposing temporary restrictions on newly qualified drivers and further details will be included for discussion when the green paper is published.

In addition to the measures outlined above, the government is also considering improving the training of driving instructors. Information would be made available to parents and young drivers on what to look for when choosing an instructor, as we well as evidence on the most risky behaviours and how to avoid them.

The Department for Transport has also published some qualitative research today on attitudes amongst young drivers and parents to driver training, driving and motor insurance, which can be downloaded at www.gov.uk/government/publications/young-drivers-attitudes-to-insurance.