Drivers 'under attack from all sides' with urgent calls for help with 'out of control' car insurance prices

To combat the high insurance costs, especially for younger drivers, experts at Nextbase have suggested introducing the “pass plus” test scheme.

The scheme is a practical training course that takes at least six hours and is for drivers to improve their skills and drive more safely.

Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailingmotoring@gbnews.uk

The benefit of the proposed measures would mean that once completed young drivers could get insurance at a discounted rate.

However, Nextbase said that even after completing the training “too many insurers appear to ignore it - suggesting the test is not stringent enough” and fail to apply the discount.

Bryn Brooker, head of road safety at Nextbase, explained that most adults in the UK drive, but they are “under attack from all sides”.

He added: “Without concerted action by whoever wins the election, driving will soon become a luxury available only to the rich few.

“Insurance costs for young drivers are out of control, with the average 18-year-old asked to pay an eye-watering £3,000.”

Brooker said that the Government should collaborate with insurers to make the test “tough enough” that it has a real impact on premiums.

Some measures can be accessed by younger drivers to get a discount on their car insurance, including purchasing a dash cam for their vehicles.

Pledge four of the manifesto called on political parties to boost funding for road repair across the UK after figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggested that the Government spent more money on road repairs in 2006 than in 2019.

Despite £8.3billion from the scrapped HS2 project being pledged to UK roads over the next 11 years, experts have warned that the financial boost is not enough.

The AA has previously highlighted how the damage caused to vehicles because of poor road conditions is at a five-year high, costing the economy an estimated £14.4billion per year.

Brooker warned that stretched councils need help to bring roads back up to standard or risk becoming much worse.

Another point in the manifesto looked at the impact of Clean Air Zones and whether the Government needs to take a “step back”.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Petrol and diesel cars to be sold 'for the foreseeable future' alongside EVs, BMW boss says
• Major car brand unveils huge U-turn by bringing popular models back to the UK one year after ending sales
• Labour to launch European Union driving laws to boost electric cars amid pledge to scrap petrol and diesel

He suggested that regardless of which political party takes control of the Government in July, they should "take a breather and look at the potential harm these schemes create".

Brooker added: “That time can be used to study the impact of the ULEZ expansion in detail.”