The majority of experienced drivers 90 per cent according to a poll conducted by the Guild of Experienced Motorists (GEM) believe that new motorists who have just passed their test should have restrictions placed on them during the first year behind the wheel.

They say that the power of the vehicle used by novice drivers could be limited while they gain a wider range of experience of different road conditions.

Visitors to the GEM website www.roadsafety.org.uk had their say about new drivers.

The decision to pose a question about new drivers in the first GEM poll followed the publication of a Department for Transport consultation document on introducing a more structured approach to learning to drive.

The DTLR says too many people are taking the driving test ill-prepared and the pass rate for the practical test has fallen over the last 10 years. The current pass rate is just under 44 per cent and slightly lower for under 21-year-olds taking the test for the first time.

A recent survey revealed that in around one in 10 tests the examiner had to physically intervene on safety grounds and as many as one in five new drivers has an accident in the first year of driving.