THE influential Institute of Advanced Motorists has demanded that the Government introduce more steps to cut the number of young drivers killed on the roads.
In a report to the roads minister Jim Fitzpatrick the group echoed calls made by the Lancashire Telegraph’s Wasted Lives campaign to increase training both before and after motorists pass their tests.
The Government is currently completing a consultations into proposed changes to the way people learn to drive.
The Telegraph campaign, backed by the transport select committee, has called on ministers to do more to stop the carnage of young drivers on our road.
It has called for the introduction of graduated licenses, as well as a raft of measures for newly-qualified motorists including limited driving in the evenings, limits to carrying young passengers and limits to driving powerful vehicles.
But instead the Government consultation is proposing extra education before people get their licence rather than such post-test measures, going against the recommendations of the Transport Select Committee.
Now the IAM has added its voice and said that a 10-point plan should be introduced to increase safety on our roads.
That includes the “crucial” aspect of introducing driver training for people who have already passed their test, a call which is set to be ignored by the Government.
Neil Greig, director of the IAM Motoring Trust, said: “More than 1,100 18-year olds are killed or seriously injured on our roads every year and there is no higher road safety priority than preparing young people to drive safely, on their own and with passengers, after passing their test.
“And all novice drivers are at greatest risk in the weeks and months after passing the driving test.
“We need to place greater emphasis on training and improvement before the driving test, and after it, ensuring that this covers the full range of roads and conditions new drivers have to deal with.
“The Government and its agencies should be more pro-active in encouraging young people to continue developing their driving by undertaking further training.”
The IAM 10-point package of actions for making younger drivers safer also includes encouraging more understanding of driving in a wider range of road conditions, integrating road safety education in core school curriculum subjects and guiding parents on how to help their children become safer drivers through additional, supervised driving practice in the family car.
The consultation into the new proposals was due to end today but has now been put back a month to allow more schools to have their say.
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