DRIVING AGE UP TO 18 ?

There have been no official statements that the driving age is going to change, but the following might help concerned youngsters see what's given rise to the many rumours.

This article extract is reproduced with the kind permission of The Motor Schools Association

The newspapers, TV and Radio have all carried reports recently stating that the driving age is being raised to 18.

Where do these stories start? Quite where this one started is difficult to say, but its first press airing was probably in the Sunday Express in January 2000.

While the idea of raising the driving age to 18, in line with most other European countries, has been raised many times before, successive governments have always ruled it out. However, this time the DETR are stating that it is considering the idea of a requirement for new drivers to hold a provisional licence for a fixed period before they can take a driving test.

The root of the current media interest appears to be based on the principal conclusions and recommendations of the Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Nineteenth Report Young and Newly-Qualified Drivers: Standards and Training.

One of their recommendations was -

We recommend that the Government immediately introduce a minimum period of six months or a year between obtaining a provisional licence and taking a driving test, a measure which we strongly believe will improve the safety standards of young and newly-qualified drivers by encouraging more practice of their skills prior to their driving test, and by making them more mature and thus less reckless. In the longer term during the minimum period drivers might be required to undergo certified periods of driving in certain conditions, for example at night, prior to obtaining a full licence.

If after consultation the government decided to go ahead there would almost certainly have to be new legislation. Notice of a Bill would then perhaps be given in the Queen's speech at the state opening of parliament.

The Bill would then have to pass through both houses of parliament. Passage of a Bill requiring novice drivers to have held a provisional licence for six months or a year before taking a test would be unlikely to receive an easy passage.

If the law was changed, any introduction of a new system would need to be staged in order to smooth the financial effects - not just on driving instructors - but also on the civil servants at the Driving Standards Agency!

Back to HOT NEWS