§ 56. Mr. A. Lewisasked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the growing practice of holders of provisional driving licences driving unaccompanied and without L plates, he will amend the application form so as to contain a warning to applicants for these types of licences that they are committing an offence; and whether he will increase the penalties for these types of offences.
§ Mr. MarplesNo. I do not know on what evidence the hon. Member bases his initial premise, but I am satisfied that the requirements are generally known and that the licence is the right place for them to be formally recorded. Penalties were increased by the Road Traffic Act, 1962, which also enabled courts to disqualify offenders.
§ 57. Sir R. Russellasked the Minister of Transport what limit is placed on the number of times a person can be issued with a provisional driving licence after failing a driving test.
§ Mr. MarplesNone. There is no evidence that learner drivers are a special source of danger on the roads, provided they obey the law. An arbitrary limit could operate unfairly on those who are slow to learn; but those who show, by not even taking a driving test, that they have no real interest in reaching a reasonable standard of competence are limited to seven provisional licences.