Learner drivers may have to wait six months before taking test

Learner drivers in England and Wales could face a minimum learning period of up to six months before sitting their practical test, the BBC can reveal.

The government will unveil the measure, which will be subject to consultation, as part of its wider road safety strategy launched on Wednesday.

The shake-up of driving laws is aimed at reducing the number of people killed or badly injured on Britain's roads by 65% over the next decade, and by 70% for children under 16.

Around a fifth of all deaths or serious injuries from crashes involved a young car driver in 2024.

The government believes a minimum period between sitting the theory test and the practical test would help learner drivers develop their skills, including driving in different conditions.

The Department for Transport will consult on three or six months for the minimum learning period.

It would include any informal learning they may do with parents or guardians as well as formal lessons with a driving instructor.

Evidence from other countries suggests minimum learning periods could reduce collisions by up to 32%. Currently, learner drivers can take lessons from 17 and book a practical test as soon as they have passed a theory exam.

The majority of driving tests in Britain are taken by under-25s. In 2024-25, about 55% of tests were taken by drivers aged 17-24.

Learner drivers currently face a waiting time of around six months to take their practical tests anyway, due to a backlog from the Covid pandemic. The backlog is expected to last until late 2027.

The proposed changes could see an end to teenagers passing their tests days after turning 17, meaning the youngest drivers would be at least 17 and a half.

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Action needed after man hit by Tube, warns coroner

A coroner has warned that Sir Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL) must take action to prevent future deaths after a man was struck by seven Jubilee line trains at an Underground station.

Brian Mitchell, 72, was killed by a train terminating at Stratford on 26 December 2023. The emergency brakes were not applied by any of the four incoming train operators, the inquest into his death heard.

Mitchell had spent almost an hour at the end of the platform before he fell on to the track. He had 272mg of alcohol in his system, more than three times the legal driving limit.

TfL said it was "taking action to prevent incidents like this from happening again". Sir Sadiq was contacted for comment.

In his report, senior coroner Graeme Irvine said that in the two years since Mitchell's death, "there is no clear evidence to demonstrate that risks of fatal harm have been mitigated".

He said: "Recommended technological measures to detect and alert staff to the presence of persons on the tracks have not been implemented at Stratford station."

Irvine added that there was no clear data available to demonstrate that train operator and station staff training had improved performance in emergency circumstances.

He concluded in his report to Sir Sadiq, TfL and the Department for Transport: "In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action."

Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer, said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr Mitchell, who sadly died at Stratford Tube station. We are committed to learning from this tragic incident and assisted the coroner during the inquest. We will respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report and are taking action to prevent incidents like this from happening again. "

How would the fee increase by 80p a month? At present there is no service charge, and from their website the only charge mentioned is 50% discount on each crossing.
Is this 80p a month going to be a service charge, or each crossing have a few pence added to it, although this latter permutation would mean it would be a different charge for each user dependent on number of crossings.

On the 18:23 home from Swansea at Port Talbot on a reasonably wet evening and glad not to be driving it. Wondering if my day return Bath - Newport allows travel via Bristol Parkway.

Mark

Thousands of pensioners could lose free travel in London after Sir Sadiq Khan put up bus and Tube fares.

Last month, the London Mayor announced that fares would rise by 7.1 per cent across the capital – twice the rate of inflation.

On Monday, the capital’s boroughs warned that this could force them to restrict funding for free travel for those aged 66 and over.

The group London Councils, which represents the 33 boroughs, said possibilities included increasing the qualifying age or means-testing it. They could also restrict the free fares to buses and the London Underground, excluding rail fares.

Londoners aged 66 and over are given a Freedom Pass that provides free transport on all Transport for London services and national rail services within Greater London.

It is funded by the London boroughs, but its annual cost is expected to rise by 11.8 per cent to £372m next year. The increase is down to the impact of Sir Sadiq’s fares rise and the growing number of Londoners entitled to a Freedom Pass.

Some 1.2 million pensioners in London have a pass and the cost of each journey taken is borne by the borough in which it starts. London Councils expects to foot the bill for more than 279 million free journeys from April.

tephen Boon, the chief operating officer, told the London Standard that the Freedom Pass was a “more generous” travel benefit than that enjoyed by pensioners in the rest of the country.

“It’s more than a bus pass, which is what it is in the rest of the country,” he said. “It’s costing more than boroughs can afford.”

He added that officials would conduct a comprehensive review of the Freedom Pass to help councillors to “understand what the options are and what the consequences could be”.

Ian Manders, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Kingston, south-west London, said the pass was an “expensive burden”. He said the borough had increased car parking charges but “it still doesn’t match how much we are spending on concessionary fares”.

Saying that though I am just 51 and my eyes have gotten much worse in the past 12 months

Tamar crossing charges 'critical' for commuters


Regular travellers with a Tamar Tag pay discount crossing fees

MPs are calling for a rethink to a proposed 150% increase in the monthly fee for the discounted toll and ferry scheme over the Tamar.

The proposal would see the Tamar Tag admin cost rise from 80 pence to £2 a month for the service which costs between £15m and 18m a year to run.

South East Cornwall MP Anna Gelderd said the increase proposed by the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee would affect "predominantly local people" and wanted to see them pay cheaper tolls.

Speaking ahead of a debate about the proposal at Plymouth City Council on Monday 12 January she said a solution needed to consider "critical growth" in Devon and Cornwall.

Gelderd is one of three Labour MPs calling for a rethink and said constituents told her "this is critical" for them.

The proposal came seven months after toll fees went up to plug a hole in finances.

The committee said it proposed the changes as it needed to maintain a "prudent reserve" of £3m.

Campaigners said the crossing was crucial for people who cross the river for work, education and appointments at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

The committee told the MPs it rejected other options including reducing the TSG discount, increasing the toll or reducing the number of ferries or toll booths.

Co-chair Andrew Long said the Tamar Crossings Company had to cover the bridge and ferry costs as they do not get funded by either Plymouth City Council or Cornwall Council and the Department of Transport does not contribute to the bridge's maintenance.

He called on the councils and central government to "step up" and support the service. "We've got to get the income from somewhere," he said. "At the moment the only way of getting through doing that is charging tolls."

He added the public will be able to submit questions about the proposals at this month's meeting when councillors would be "looking at all the costs, all the income".

Storm Goretti likely to bring heavy snow leading to disruption and difficult travelling conditions.

A deep area of low pressure will move across the south of the UK during Thursday and into Friday bringing a mixture of rain, snow and strong winds.

A spell of heavy snow is likely to develop over higher ground in south Wales later on Thursday before rain turns to snow more widely over parts of England and Wales during Thursday night. In some areas, 5-10 cm of snow may settle with the potential for up to 20 cm in some locations, especially over higher ground. Strong winds may lead to some drifting of snow. Rain and snow will then clear eastwards during Friday.

This system has been named by Meteo France as the strongest winds associated with Storm Goretti are most likely over northern France.

London & South East England
Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes
Oxfordshire
West Berkshire

South West England
Bath and North East Somerset
Bristol
Gloucestershire
North Somerset
Somerset
South Gloucestershire
Swindon
Wiltshire
Wales
Blaenau Gwent
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Cardiff
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Conwy
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Gwynedd
Merthyr Tydfil
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
Powys
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Swansea
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Wrexham

++

Trains delayed after wartime bomb found

Rail passengers have been warned of delays and cancellations after a suspected unexploded wartime bomb was found near a line in Birmingham.

An old mortar device was discovered at Duddeston Mill Trading Estate, on Duddeston Mill Road, Washwood Heath, at about 09:45 GMT on Tuesday.

A bomb disposal team attended and put a 100m exclusion zone in place which included the line.

There were delays and cancellations on services between Tamworth, Derby and Sheffield, and although lines later reopened, National Rail said disruption through Birmingham New Street was expected to last until 15:00 GMT.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: "We are currently supporting West Midlands Police as they deal with an incident in Duddeston. As a result some train services are currently disrupted. We will keep you updated with information as we receive it."

Rail services resume following upgrade work


A mile-long section of track was worked on between Milton Keynes and Northampton

Trains are running once again on a stretch of railway that was upgraded over the festive period.

The Network Rail project involved four railway lines at Hanslope Junction, between Milton Keynes and Northampton, with work beginning on Christmas Eve.

Faults at the junction had caused delays in recent years, and it is hoped the work will reduce disruption for passengers using the West Coast Main Line.

All lines were reopened at 04:00 GMT on Monday.


Work was also carried out on one of the platforms at Milton Keynes Central Station

Network Rail said the junction was used by up to 500 trains a day, and the project – which cost £26m – took nearly a year of planning.

Workers replaced 130 track panels and renewed the foundation stone beneath the tracks. There were also improvements made to points, switches and crossings.

Follow-up work is scheduled for Hanslope Junction on 11 and 25 January, with trains between Milton Keynes and Northampton suspended while it takes place.

While the line was closed, other projects took place nearby.

Uneven surfaces on platform 4 at Milton Keynes Central Station were replaced. Elsewhere in Buckinghamshire, there was resurfacing work on platforms 3 and 4 at Wolverton Station to improve stepping distances between trains and the platforms.

At Roade, Northamptonshire, about 1,500m of new rail was installed.

That will include a stroll across the English Civil War battlefield of 5 July 1643, on the crest of Lansdown. I am a great fan of that, too.

Don't know if it was like that this morning; if it was, I was obviously still half asleep

The newer sections of OHLE are generally very robust.  Problems nearly always occur in the legacy OHLE from the 1990s from Paddington out as far as Heathrow.  Though that fragile area is the most important unfortunately!

Obviously the next problem will be finding enough qualified people to do these eye tests
But every three years seems a long gap for that age

One of my New Year's Day pictures showed diesel fumes - or was it steam - coming out of the pipes on an IET at Chippenham - no doubt just warming up has it come electric as far as Cocklebury Lane, and I mused sadly that it wasn't electric through to Bath, Bristol and beyond.   Seeing the problems that NR / GWR seem to have with the extra complexity of OLE, I wonder if I should be careful what I wish for.

Obviously the next problem will be finding enough qualified people to do these eye tests
But every three years seems a long gap for that age

Saying that though I am just 51 and my eyes have gotten much worse in the past 12 months

How often can I have a free NHS sight test?

If you're eligible for a free NHS sight or eye test, you can have a test every 2 years.

You may be able to have a free NHS sight test more often than every 2 years if your ophthalmic practitioner or optometrist recommends you do.