British road safety campaigners have reacted with dismay to continuing delays to their Government's planned reforms of the driving test.
Stricter rules for drivers under the age of 30 were due to be proposed last year, with new young drivers being given a year-long probationary licence when they passed their test instead of a full one. The new licences, which aimed to reduce accidents involving young people, would not allow holders to drive between 10pm and 5am unless someone else over 30 was in the car.
Roads Minister Robert Goodwill initially announced in December that the reforms had been put back, saying the Department for Transport was "wrestling with how to make things safer while not unduly restricting the freedom of our young people".
The delays have since been extended while the Government awaits the results of research into how "telematics" -- devices which can record how a driver accelerates, corners and brakes -- can change the behaviour and attitudes of learner drivers.
Critics claim ministers are worried about alienating young voters before next year's general election. Crispin Moger, the chief executive of Marmalade, which specialises in insurance for new drivers, said: "I think it's a disgrace that the green paper, talking about radical plans to change the driving test, has been delayed simply to avoid losing votes.
