HC Deb 02 December 1985 vol 88 c6
6. Mr. Holt

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to modify current driving test standards; and if he will make a statement.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Michael Spicer)

There are no such plans at present.

Mr. Holt

Is my hon. Friend aware that anyone can take a set of driving lessons, pass the driving test without ever having been allowed to drive on a motorway, and thereafter get into the fastest car, go as fast as possible, tow a caravan or a horse box with a couple of horses in it and create mayhem, at night and in the dark? Is it not time that the Ministry took on board the need for training those who will travel on motorways and the need to make motorway driving an integral part of the driving test so that we can lower the carnage on our roads?

Mr. Spicer

The problem with allowing L-drivers on motorways in preparation for a test, as my hon. Friend suggests, is that it would increase the hazard to the other drivers already using the motorways, who are in the majority.

Mr. Higgins

Is my hon. Friend aware that some motoring schools appear to be giving the impression that they can get a driving test arranged at an earlier date than would normally be the case for a private individual applying for a test? Is that true either for the first allocation of a date for cancellations?

Mr. Spicer

I am not aware of the point mentioned by my right hon. Friend, but perhaps he will let me have the details afterwards. I am aware that the waiting lists have increased unacceptably. Our priority is therefore to employ additional examiners to reduce the waiting lists.

7. Mr. Amess

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many residents of Basildon took a driving test in each of the last five years.

Mr. Michael Spicer

I regret that records of driving test applicants are not kept by their places of residence, and therefore that information is not available.

Mr. Amess

In view of the very large number of my constituents taking driving tests and the considerable distances that they have to travel to the nearest test centres, does my hon. Friend understand my constituents' desire to have their own driving test centre in Basildon, now the most dynamic town in the south of England?

Mr. Spicer

I understand that my hon. Friend has been assiduous in making that case on behalf of his constituents, but driving test centres are carefully selected to ensure that test routes around them are not too easy, and we feel that driving conditions in Basildon are not sufficiently difficult. As my hon. Friend knows, there are four centres within 13 miles of Basildon.