The Scottish Government is keen to pilot a graduated driver licencing (GDL) scheme and will press the UK Government to agree to this, according to The Herald.
The issue of GDL was raised in Holyrood when Labour MSP David Stewart called on the transport minister Derek Mackay to seek an urgent meeting with UK transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin to discuss piloting the scheme.
Replying, Derek Mackay said: "I would be happy to continue our efforts with the UK Government to promote the scheme, and I will be more than happy to pilot it in Scotland.
"If the Labour Party want to assist us on that with others, then I will happily take a cross-party approach and more than happy to try and progress this once again."
RoSPA has recently called for GDL to be introduced as one of the measures in its young driver Green Paper, which has been supported by a string of road safety academics and organisations including Dr Sarah Jones (Cardiff University), Professor Frank McKenna (Reading University), Association of British Insurers (ABI), GEM Motoring Assist, Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), London Road Safety Council, PACTS, Public Health Wales, RAC Foundation, Road Safety GB, RoadSafe and Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).
At the Young Driver Focus conference in April 2015 Professor Stephen Stradling told the 170+ delegates that introducing GDL was the single most important thing the new Government can do to reduce casualties among, and caused by, young drivers.
Interesting how the related topic has been taken off the front page. The comments from both sides are informative and very relevant. I think unfortunately that with the rules (laws) in which Scotland and the rest of the UK are governed diverging at an accelerated pace the break up of the UK is almost inevitable now.
http://www.roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/4364.html
Steve Armstrong, Halifax UK.
0