Should children start driving lessons in primary school?

One in five newly qualified young drivers in Scotland is involved in a collision in the first year after passing their test.

Calls are being made for more training about driving and road safety to be introduced in schools.

The UK Government is consulting on plans for a minimum period of learning.

But learning could also start much earlier. In some countries, like the United States, driver training starts in school.

My daughter Mila is just ten years old, and on Tuesday she drove for the first time.

I took her to the Young Driver course at Ingliston for an early taste of the skills you need behind the wheel.

“It was good, it was bit scary at first though but then it was fine,” Mila said.

Mila learned how to start the car, control the clutch and steer. Her instructor, Roberta Clark, said she believes driving lessons should be on the curriculum.

My son Jody is nearly 14 and is already thinking about being able to drive on the roads in just over three years from now.

“It’s very helpful, you learn a lot of stuff that you get to use for your driving lessons in the future,” he said.

One of the instructors is a retired traffic officer. With around thirty young drivers being killed in Scotland every year, he’s seen the consequences all too often.

“The main costs is the heartbreak and anguish to family and friends, and onlookers, it’s a horrible thing to see,” Graeme Ferguson told STV News.

“I think lack of experience is a huge factor in most collisions.”

The UK government is currently consulting on its road safety strategy.

It’s rejected calls for blanket restrictions like new drivers being banned from carrying passengers, but is considering whether a minimum time period should be introduced between passing your theory test and being allowed to sit the practical driving test.

That could also include a minimum number of driving hours and a compulsory syllabus to be learned.

The aim of all of that is to help ensure young people are properly learning to drive – and not just being trained to pass a test.