Soon It Will Be Legal For Learner Drivers To Drive On The Motorway

Last year it was announced that learner drivers in England, Scotland and Wales will be able to drive on Motorways in 2018.

The decision, which was made to ensure all drivers are equipped to deal with the challenging driving conditions more effectively, will come into force at some point this year.

A number of other changes to the Driving Test came into force last year on December 4th, however motorway driving wasn’t one of them.

As the law currently stands, it is illegal for a provisional driver to drive on a motorway. However, as soon as they pass their practical test, they are then able to drive on a motorway, unsupervised, without any prior experience.

Everything You Need To Know

Although there are a number of strict rules which will need to be followed, motorway lessons will be completely voluntary. It will be up to the driving instructor to decide when and if the learner driver is competent enough to have a motorway lesson.

Trainee driving instructors will not be able allowed to take learner drivers on a motorway.

The rules:

• The car must be dual controlled
• Learner Drivers must be accompanied by an approved driving instructor
• L plates must be shown at the front and back of the vehicle

However, this doesn’t mean that motorway driving will be forming part of the new driving test. And therefore it will not be compulsory for a learner, who doesn’t want to drive on the motorway.

A Positive Effect

The DVSA said the changes will be ‘well-publicised’ so that learner drivers, instructors and other road users will be well prepared for the changes, and will know what to expect when they come into force.

This also means that the highway code and theory test questions  will have to be updated.

“We often find learner drivers struggle with theory test questions about the motorway, as it’s difficult to relate to a situation you’ve never experienced. So we’re hopeful having experience of driving on a motorway will have a positive effect on theory test revision too.” DVSA

For more information on any of the other changes which came into force last year, visit the DVLA Website.