All drivers should take regular refresher courses

SIR – There is a strong possibility that the majority of drivers in this country take their driving test before the age of 20. You also report (January 1) that there are now more than 150,000 people over 90 still driving. Between the ages of 20 and 90 there are, however, no compulsory updating courses or tests, unless you are offered a speed awareness course.

If we are to make roads safer, shouldn’t everyone be obliged to retake a test every 10 years? Insurance companies could insist and it might bring premiums down. It would also boost employment, as we would need more driving instructors.

Jonathan Williams

Pickworth, Lincolnshire

SIR – Who is the more dangerous: an elderly driver who has driven safely for years without having an accident, or a younger one who has just passed their test after several failed attempts?

Surely the best way to promote safe driving is to require all drivers to take a refresher test at regular intervals, and for there to be an upper limit on the number of tests that a person can take.

When I practised as a solicitor, the majority of my road-traffic clients were not senior citizens.

Tim Leete

Burgess Hill, West Sussex

SIR – In some European countries, young drivers are limited to only carrying passengers over the age of 21 for the first year after they have passed their test.

The recent sad deaths of young men in a car accident in Snowdonia, and in South Wales, might have been avoided if the Government had taken the necessary action to reduce motoring accidents involving new drivers. The urgent imposition of appropriate restrictions in the UK might save young lives.

John Skipper FRCS

London SW19