Phased driving test called for by national charity
Almost three-quarters of people would support a phased driving licence process for learner drivers to make roads safer, new research shows.
This comes weeks after the deadline for a public consultation set up by Shetland Islands Council on the implementation of further traffic calming measures in Lerwick.
The Road Safety Trust revealed on Wednesday the results of a study which looked at the attitudes of Britons towards key road safety measures.
Seventy-two per cent of people were supportive of introducing Graduated Driver Licensing - a policy which would mean learners drivers would take longer to get their full licences. It would also restrict new drivers from driving at night and the number of passengers they could have.
Four in five people also supported drivers over the age of 70 to complete mandatory eyesight tests.
The trust’s director of communications Paul Steinberg said researched showed the British public wanted to see “evidence-based” measures implemented to reduce the number of accidents and deaths on the roads.
“For years, we have understood from experience and evaluation what works to make roads safer,” Mr Steinberg said.
“What is new today is clear, nationwide evidence that the public supports those same measures.”
He added the public were “willing” to see action being taken.
Graduated Driving Licensing would allow learners to gain more experience on the roads in a delayed process under “lower risk” situations, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
According to the association, it is divided into three stages: a minimum supervised learning period, an intermediate licence period that places restrictions on the newly qualified driver, and the acquisition of a full, unrestricted, driving licence available after completion of the first two stages.
It has campaigned for these measures to be introduced as young drivers were “grossly overrepresented” in official accident figures.
The current system allows a newly-passed driver to go out alone in their car immediately after they have passed their test.
The ABI said it was “therefore unsurprising” to see many young people pass as quickly ass possible. A lot of which take a few months to “learn the skills required”.
If the policy were implemented, a number of measures would be in place.
First of all, a learner would be required to take lessons for 12 months before being allowed to sit their test.
The legal age at which a person can begin taking lessons would be lowered to 16 and a half.
During an intermediate phase, there would also be limits to how many passengers a driver could carry and what times they would be allowed to be on the roads - no driving between 11pm and 4am.
These drivers would also be required to comply with stricter blood-alcohol limits - 20 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. In Scotland the limit is 22 microgrammes.
Shetland Islands Council proposed to instal traffic calming measures in several areas of Lerwick, with the consultation ending on 10th October.
The SIC advertised its proposals in the public notice section of The Shetland Times on 11th September.
These included four notices for the introduction of speed bumps in King Harald Street and King Erik Street; A969 South Road and Scalloway Road; Burgh Road; and Gilbertson Road and Bell's Road.
Its announcements also included further implementation of 20mph speed limits on King Harald Street and Scalloway Road and South Road.
This newspaper launched a poll on the subject that week. Almost 100 per cent voted against the proposals.
Commenting online, readers called for greater policing of the roads instead.
Others backed the idea of introducing a “smiley face” sign on the roads instead. This had worked well in Brae according to one reader.