Driving insurance companies in Britain are calling for new drivers to face driving restrictions but also to face rigorous driver training, including starting six months earlier than the current age of 17.

The Association of British Insurers say: 17-24 year olds are responsible for a disproportionately high number of crashes and claims.

Insurers are looking for a number of changes including:

A graduate licence for new drivers, which they will hold for six months after passing the test

Newly qualified drivers to be restricted, including not driving between 11pm and 4am

Young drivers would be able to start their tuition from 16 and a half

No blood alcohol allowed during the first six months

Road safety minister Stephen Hammond said: “We are already working with young people, the industry and other key stakeholders to identify what can be done to ensure that newly-qualified drivers are properly prepared and drive safely.”

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A survey asked parents aged between 25 and 75 years what their most memorable car journey was and below are the top three answers:

1. Driving your new family home from the hospital following the birth of your child
2. Driving your partner to the hospital for the birth of your child
3. Setting off on your first family holiday

Other emotive drives featured in the top 10 answers included; picking up your first family pet, your children leaving home and your child’s first driving lesson.

Interestingly both males and females voted the same top answer, driving home from the hospital as their number one memory.

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“Use both hands on the steering wheel.” We say this comment a lot. We say it often. But, for some people it doesn’t stick. After a few safer turns they quickly revert back to old habits. That is, when they come to turn a corner, both hands will cross over. Or, sometimes drivers even try and use one hand!

Using both hands gives you much more control over the vehicle. People often think that they only need to use both hands when they are driving at a high speed, such as when you’re on the motorway or driving a long a dual carriageway . But that’s not the case. You always need to be in control of your vehicle. That means, whether you are driving slowly or not. Why? Remember, situations happen all the time and you can’t account for when they may happen, you need to prepared for them.

Fred England took to the Seafront in Great Yarmouth at just 18, transporting passengers on his horse-drawn carriage alongside his grandfather, parents and siblings.

25 years later Mr England still carries passengers but he now has a hurdle in the way. Great Yarmouth Borough Council told him that to renew his licence he now needs to pass his driving test.

The council said: “Several years ago the council introduced a pre-requisite that all new second class Hackney carriage drivers (landau drivers) would have to hold a car driver’s licence. However, it was agreed that any existing landau drivers be given ‘grandfather rights’ and would not be required to hold a car driver’s licence.”

“Following recent legal advice, it has come to light that it is a legal requirement for a Hackney carriage deriver to hold a car driver’s licence.”

Mr England is taking a petition signed by fellow drivers and members of the pupil to his hearing before the licensing committee.

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Andre Santos, an arsenal footballer who was caught speeding 145mph in a 70mph zone has been banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £3,600 in fines.

The arsenal defender, 29, failed to stop as he was pursued by police in his Maserati supercar, Hendon Magistrates’ Court heard.

Andre simply turned up to court and accepted the charges. He apologised for his actions and hoped this wouldnt reflect badly on Arsenal Football Club.

As Autumn begins to set in, the mornings get more crisper, as you walk out the door you feel the chappy wind run across your face, and eventually you start to layer up a little more. The summer is well and truly over for another year. What does this mean for car drivers though?

For those of us who drive to work in the mornings, we begin to appreciate our cars so much more. Yes, when you first jump in it feels cold, but as we turn the heating up to max and flick the radio on loud, we start to feel the real benefits of a car. Been in a warm car, cut off from the bitterly winds, is a great thing.

Remember to check the following as the nights draw in and the weather drops more.

1) Ensure your water and oil is topped up sufficiently
2) Check that all of your lights work
3) Keep a towel in the car to clear the windscreen

I am a little saddened by the fact that kindles and e-books are replacing the real thing. I love nothing more than to curl up with a good book, one that I can fold the pages down and get coffee stains on. It tells a story and brings back memories but technology is taking over.

Even the DSA are converting, with ‘Driving – the essential skills’ and ‘The Official Highway Code’ both available as an e-book.

Along with apps and paperbacks for now, there are multiple ways to choose how you want to study for your theory.

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When approaching, coming out of, and turning into junctions you are required to exercise due care and attention. Yet, time and time again we see people fail to take the proper measures when it comes to junctions.

When you are approaching a junction remember to do so slowly. Take the time to look both left and right a few times. Remember that although it may be easier to see a car, it’s not always easy to see a motorcyclist. You need to look out for them and ensure that they when you pull out you won’t hit them. This may sound obvious, but it is scary how often people don’t notice cyclists and motorcyclists.

When you are waiting to turn into a junction look around you. If a driver flashes you to turn into the junction have a good look around to make sure that he is not flashing any one else. Before you turn into the junction ensure that you won’t hit a car or person!

Quite often people park close to junctions, thus affecting your view. We all know that people shouldn’t do this, but they do. To be safe, approach this situation cautiously. Take it slowly and constantly make sure you are checking around you for any possible problems.

Some drivers will be just as good on the road at age 80 as they were aged 50, whilst others may need to retire from driving at 60. There are many factors that contribute to our ability to drive well or badly for that matter and as driving is no easy task, everybody needs to take responsibility for themselves and make an informed choice to stop driving.

Factors in old age that could contribute to poor driving skills include:

Motor skills: muscles weaken and reflexes slow, making movement a lot harder.
Hearing: with impaired hearing, being alert to sirens or other road users becomes affected.
Vision deterioration: any vision loss will affect your driving ability.
Reaction time: reacting to situations on the road, such as pedestrians walking out or a car suddenly braking will become decreased.
Medication: many older people take various medications which can result in drowsiness, confusion or slower reaction times.

All of the factors above can contribute to the way a person drives, no matter what your age. However, an older person is more susceptible to the above.

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As mentioned in the Highway Code, the most vulnerable road users are pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders. It goes onto to say that you need to be aware of children, older and disabled people, and learner drivers. With this is mind you need to be cautious when driving and take particular caution when you are driving in the vicinity of schools and areas where elderly people are. But also, you must pay extra attention when you are in crowded placed, driving past bus and tram stop, passing parked vehicles, reversing into a side road and turning at roads and junctions.

It’s one thing knowing this, but what do we do in these situations?

Firstly, drive slower. Take the time to look around you. If you are, for example, driving near to a school you will know that parents will be picking up and dropping off their children and that children may run in the roads. Therefore, you need to slow the car down, be prepared to stop if you need to.

Remember that the speed limit maybe 30 mph but that doesn’t mean you need to drive at that speed. At times you will need to slow right down to avoid any accidents.

When you are driving behind a bus remember that it will often stop to pick up and drop off passengers. Some passengers may walk in front of the bus as you are overtaking. So again, exercise caution and be aware that this may happen.

We hope these tips are useful.