Driving lessons cost set to soar under plan to cut young drivers' death toll

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The cost of driving lessons will rocket under a plan to cut the death toll of young drivers - but critics fear it might push youngsters into driving illegally.

The scheme to provide more rigorous training and testing for learners and instructors could see the cost of a typical course of lessons rise from £900 to £1,500.

Ministers are set to propose a longer tuition period, during which learners will be tested on certain skills, such as motorway and night driving, before taking the main driving test.

Driving Instructors' Association chief Eddie Barnaville warns that the average fee for a one-hour lesson will rise from £22 to £32, adding: "If instructors are obliged to attain higher qualifications, they will almost certainly pass those costs on to the customer."

Andrew Howard, AA head of road safety, said: "If learning to drive becomes too difficult and too expensive, people will turn away and may take to the road without any proper training or qualification."

Every week in Britain 14 young drivers and their passengers are killed.

Men aged 17 to 20 are almost ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than men aged 40 to 59.