Minimum driving age of 18

Well, this time the rumour is gaining weight.

Insurers are backing it, politicians are backing it, and it seems like the more vociferous (and less intelligent) tabloids are backing it.

Once these things start to gel, it will only take a couple of years for it to be law.

Ah well - that's going to be an interesting year for driving instructors!

Luckily most of my clientelle is slightly older than 17, but there will be a huge oversupply of instructors for that year - some of us will need to make way for the rest to earn a living.

Unfortunately though - I can't really see it having much effect in itself on accident statistics.

Some of the other suggestions might help though - one is the training log idea - driving for 120 hours or so before taking your test. This may or may not be with a driving instructor, but it woud certainly build experience - one of the main problems with novice drivers.

Another - to restrict young passengers (between 10 and 20 yrs old) could prove interesting - and again could help reduce the accident stats (who didn't show off to a car full of friends?!). I'm not sure how the police may find enforcing this one - they may welcome the ability to stop a vehicle full of youngsters on suspicion - but they may just be sick and tired of yet more rules to enforce.

Realistically a lot of this will come down to something many of us have been suggesting for a long time - we actually need more police on the road to enforce the laws that regulate which driving attitudes are acceptable and which aren't.