Gear up for tougher roads, says IAM

With the 1st June marking the 75th anniversary of the introduction of the driving test in the UK, the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) has called for drivers to continually improve their technique in keeping with increasingly demanding driving conditions.

Peter Rodger, IAM Chief Examiner, said: “There are more cars on the road than ever before, and the driving environment is becoming more complicated. Our driving tests, however, have changed little over the years, and an improvement in driving standards is needed to fill the gap.

“Although cars are becoming easier to drive – with much improved brakes and suspension as well as power steering and a host of safety systems - traffic has significantly increased and traffic networks have become immensely more complex, so the driver needs far more understanding of what’s going on outside the car,” he said.

The IAM also wants to see a rural road element being incorporated into the driving test, as it is not currently compulsory. In the UK 71 per cent of road deaths occur on rural roads.

“It is improving the driver which will make the single biggest improvement to road safety in the future, and drivers need to take it upon themselves to adopt a lifelong learning approach,” added Mr Rodger.

In 1935 the driving test was introduced: within a year the death toll had fallen by nearly a thousand. 

In 1934, 7,343 people were killed on Britain's roads when there were just 2.4 million vehicles. In 2008 there were two-thirds fewer deaths (2,538), but fourteen times as many vehicles (34 million).

In 2008 the learner pass rate was 41 per cent for women and 47 per cent for men.