Ref. 28326-15SWINDON's driving instructors may strike over plans to force them back to school.

Instructors have been told they must sit a basic hazard perception test, which all learner drivers have had to pass for the past year.

But the instructors say it's an insult and have threatened to boycott them. They are also considering refusing to enter any of their students for tests in order to put pressure on the Driving Standards Agency, which is planning to bring in the tests in the New Year.

There are about 100 instructors working for about 60 driving schools in the Swindon area.

Many are expected to attend a meeting tonight at Lawn Commu-nity Centre to plot their next move, called by the Swindon Motor Schools' Association.

Terry Thorpe, who runs the Driving Academy in Highworth, said making instructors take the hazard perception test was an insult to their intelligence.

"We have all passed stiff exams to become qualified. We also face regular checks from the Driving Standards Agency," he said adding that the 15-minute test, in which students are shown clips of film footage and asked to identify potential dangers, was all in a day's work for instructors.

"We do hazard perception every day of the week it's something we do all the time," he said.

"Too many of us won't do it, and we are considering stopping working for four weeks so there wouldn't be any tests," he said.

"It would be a headache for the Agency because they wouldn't have any revenue."

Mr Thorpe said instructors were collating a petition and were confident the plans will be stopped.

Phil Brown of Safeway Driving School, based at Woodhall Park, predicted there would be protests against the plans.

"There should have been discussions with the industry, but it came as a total surprise," he said.

But Chris Lee, spokeswoman of the DSA, said: "It is important those who are teaching students make sure they have a grasp of the test themselves," she said.

Andy Tate