80% would fail driving test

Driving standards in Britain are so low that more than eight in 10 motorists would fail the L-test if forced to take it today, new figures reveal.

Most - especially those in London - have developed so many lethal habits that their ability to pass the test is even lower than that of the typical learner.

Around 56 per cent of candidates fail the official driving test. But if supposedly qualified drivers took it 81 per cent would flunk, detailed research shows. A survey of drivers suggests many have become a positive danger to other road users by ignoring the most fundamental rules.

More than 1,200 motorists were asked which bad habits they had which would make them fail the L-test.

Three out of five found it almost impossible to stick to maximum speed limits, despite increasing evidence linking excess speed to accidents.

Men are the worst offenders here, with 66 per cent admitting they found it hard to stick to the correct speed compared to 56 per cent of women.

More than one third of drivers also regularly shoot through traffic lights on amber, even though the Highway Code clearly states that when the amber light comes on, you may only cross the white line if you have already begun to do so.

Male drivers are higher risk-takers than women with 37 per cent admitting to breaking the law in this way compared to 32 per cent of female drivers.

In London, traffic-light jumping is at epidemic proportions with nearly four in 10 drivers admitting to this potentially lethal habit, which was today condemned by the RAC Foundation.

One fifth of drivers admitted they don't bother to use either side or rearview mirrors properly - a mistake that can result in injury or death for motorcyclists or pedal cyclists when car drivers unthinkingly swerve from one lane to another.

The worst culprits for this, according to the survey, are those aged 16-34. Twenty-eight per cent fail to signal their manoeuvres, instead making last-minute decisions to switch lanes or take turnings - an oversight that leads many learners to fail the test.

Driving with one hand on the wheel, another habit that can lead to L-test failure, is common practice among 60 per cent of drivers, while 56 per cent admit to crossing hands on the steering wheel.

Fourteen per cent admit to driving without wearing a seatbelt - an offence that carries a penalty of £60 and three points on a licence, and which can lead to death or injury in a crash.

Today, experts said the figures were borne out not only by the results of the survey compiled by Tesco Personal Finance, but by the death and injury toll on Britain's roads.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "The most worrying aspect of this survey is that more than a third of London motorists play Russian roulette with their own lives and others' by jumping red lights. It is incredibly dangerous to do this.

"It is also alarming that drivers do not use their mirrors. Good driving should be for life, not just for the test."

Government figures show that 3,409 people died on UK roads in 2000 and 320,283 were injured, with the overwhelming majority of collisions caused by bad driving.

While older motorists generally gain in experience, honing vital skills such as parking, steering and observation, Tesco's research suggests that millions also forget or ignore much of what they were originally taught.