The Government are considering allowing learner drivers on motorways

Exeter sits at the end of one of the busiest stretches of motorway in the country – the M5. During the summer it is the main holiday artery for thousands of holiday-makers heading down to Cornwall, and every day throughout the year hundreds of lorries thunder up and down it. To some, motorway driving is something they have to do every day, while others prefer to use it occasionally. The Department for Transport tells us that a modern road network [motorway] helps traffic move around the country more easily and is essential for economic growth.

Exeter M5 motorway drivingSo why is it that we only allow newly qualified drivers onto these roads?

We should be educating learner drivers how to cope with faster driving and heavier traffic and how to navigate the myriad of new signs and information boards. Smart motorways came into action in 2013, with CCTV controlling digital message boards, variable speed limits, and lane closures. All this can be intimidating for the most experienced of drivers. Therefore it is with a sense of relief that somebody at the Department for Transport is at least considering allowing learner drivers onto these busy roads under the expert eye of qualified driving instructors.

The Guardian in December 2015 reported that:

The possibility of learners on motorways [would] be explored under a £2m project examining driver education. It would look at whether the current regime gives the best training for learner and novice drivers.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation welcomes the idea of supervised practice for learners; “One in five young drivers has an accident within six months of passing their test so putting the learning process under the spotlight has to be a good thing.”

At Road Masters we welcome these considerations as driver confidence and safety is at the forefront of our ethos. In the meantime we will continue to offer our Motorway Driving Tuition for newly qualified drivers.