One in five teenagers drink-drive

30 August 2007

7% of 17 to 18-year-olds drug-drive
Calls for changes to driving test process
Proposals include banning any alcohol

There are plans to overhaul the driving test

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One in five 17 to 18-year-olds admit driving after drinking alcohol, while one in 14 have driven while under the influence of drugs, according to new research.

The news follows the release of the latest Government figures, which show that four 17-18-year-olds are killed or seriously injured each day in Britain.

The report has led to calls for the Government to overhaul the driving test and ban new drivers from drinking any alcohol - although critics point out that the survey only highlights how many youngsters are driving after drinking alcohol, not how many are driving over the legal limit.

Spokesman for road safety charity Brake, Jools Townsend, said: 'Decisive Government action is long overdue. We are demanding Government moves forward with an overhaul of driver training and testing.'

Among the proposals are the introduction of graduated driver licensing, a move backed by the Association of British Insurers.

The system, which has been trialled successfully in America, Canada and the Netherlands, breaks the learning process into stages.

This restricts novice drivers' exposure to high-risk situations by banning the carrying of young passengers and imposing a zero limit on alcohol.

Parliament's Transport Select Committee has already recommended a minimum 12-month learning period, raising the age of unaccompanied driving to 18, and better hazard-perception training.

It also recommended a 12-month post-test period with restrictions that include a zero-alcohol limit and a ban on carrying young passengers at night.