Changes to driver training under discussion

Story from Fleet News.

The chairman and general manager of the Driving Instructors Association (DIA), Graham Fryer and Steve Garrod respectively, met with Mike Penning, under-secretary of state for transport, to discuss various ways to improve the general standard of driver education.

Amongst the changes proposed were:

• The integration of the current Pass Plus scheme into the learning-to-drive syllabus.
• To include motorway training in that syllabus, and for ADIs to be allowed to teach pupils on motorways.
• That those applying for a driving test should only be allowed to do so once instructors are confident that candidates have sufficient experience of driving on all the types of road they will encounter when they have a full licence.

Steve Garrod said of the meeting, “The under-secretary of state seemed very open to the DIA’s suggestions and appreciative of the association’s desire to improve road safety through better driver training. We’re especially heartened with the minister’s belief that learner drivers need to be taught to drive rather than simply pass the test and his concerns over the trainee licence scheme.”

Read the full story at fleetnews.co.uk.