There has been talk about using motorways as part of the ‘Learning to Drive’ process for a very long time. There are clearly many benefits to this as motorway’s can be quite a stressful experience for a lot of new drivers and that, together with the anxiety it produces and inexperience can lead to dangerous situations on the UK’s fastest roads.

Indeed, over the weekend I was behind a ‘young’ motorist entering a motorway at a little under 50 mph – the motorway was not ‘clogged up’ and its traffic was a lot faster than this. Naturally it did cause braking, accelerating and lane changing on a last minute basis which can be the recipie for a ‘nasty moment’.

The Institiute of Advaced Motorists continues to apply the pressure for change:

Let learner drivers use motorways

“With a Green Paper on learning to drive due to be published later this month, the IAM IScalling on the Government to ensure any new system includes allowing supervised L drivers onto our motorways. Motorways are our safest roads and many countries …Messenger Newspapers”
http://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/10485572.Let_learner_drivers_use_motorways/

Perhaps the answer is to leave the current learner training as is but new drivers not being allowed on motorways until an approved course of instruction has been undertaken. I guess though, there will then be the arguments “we are nowhere near a motorway”. Not an easy problem to solve so I would imagine the discussions will go on, and on, and……