§ 25. Sir H. Harrisonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will consider making an order that a learner driver, before taking the driving test, must have had a minimum of eight hours instruction by an approved driving instructor.
§ Mr. PeytonNo, Sir.
§ Sir H. HarrisonI should like to ask my right hon. Friend whether, in the interests of road safety which is so dear to the heart of everyone in the House, as these approved driving instructors pass a very high-grade Ministry test, he will see that this is made a common factor in driving instruction to be more widely applied by everyone who wants to use a lethal weapon on the roads?
§ Mr. PeytonI am aware of my hon. and gallant Friend's concern in the matter of road safety, and I share it, but I very much doubt whether such a measure would be justified. It would be exceedingly difficult to enforce and would, I think, in some cases bear very hardly on the individual.
§ Mr. HefferHas the right hon. Gentleman considered some sort of post-learner sign to be used for a year after a learner has passed his test? Is he aware that when I passed my test I hit everything in sight for the first couple of months? Based on my own experience I feel that it is not a bad idea, in the interest of the safety of post-learners and everyone else, that everybody on the roads should be aware of the fact that the post-learner is a new driver. I am sure this would be a great help towards road safety.
§ Mr. PeytonI am sure the whole House is indebted to the hon. Gentleman for the interesting recollection of his personal experience. I am equally sure that the whole House will rejoice that not everybody does the same as he did. To answer his question, I have considered just such a measure as he has proposed. I will do so again. So far I have been deterred by the amount of administrative work involved, because I have not felt fully satisfied as to the benefit which would result.