Instructors are concerned that young people may be passing their driving tests without being fully prepared to take to the roads, Direct Line car insurance has revealed.

Teachers’ concerns were shared by young drivers, with nine in ten affirming they would prefer a tougher test while 54 per cent agreed they had found getting their licence too easy.

Proving they could handle motorway driving as well as driving at night should be core components of the reworked test, respondents told the insurer.

Almost one in five people said they still found driving at night difficult, up to two years after passing their test, while similar numbers found motorway driving a challenge.

Road crashes are Britain’s top killer of young people in their teens and 20s, Direct Line’s motor spokesperson Emma Holver stressed.

Recent statistics have shown that a disproportionate number of accidents involves young drivers who have passed their tests relatively recently, and the premiums insurers tend to charge younger drivers reflects this development.

A revised driving test would help young drivers avoid accidents, the survey suggested, with a quarter of those surveyed admitting to accidents since they qualified, while 17 per cent said they had near-misses.

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