Learning to drive is the ambition of many 17-year-olds.

Having your own wheels brings independence, but it also brings a huge amount of responsibility and that is something some young drivers aren’t prepared for.

Passing a driving test is one thing, but that is when the learning really begins because every day behind the wheel you are faced with different situations testing your common sense as well as your driving skills.

According to a Department for Transport spokesman, young drivers drive around five per cent of all the miles driven in Britain but are involved in about 20 per cent of the crashes where someone is killed or seriously injured.

In an attempt to improve the safety of young drivers, as well as reduce insurance costs, the Government is publishing a Green Paper later in the year setting out new proposals which could see young drivers adhering to a nighttime driving curfew and taking their test a year later.

A research report produced by TRL, under commission by the Dft which has contributed to the the Green Paper, also recommends young drivers have a 12-month “learner stage” beginning at 17 with a requirement for at least 100 hours of day-time and 20 hours of night-time supervised practice.

After passing their test, they would get a probationary licence and would have to display a green “P” plate. Restrictions also include a night-time driving curfew running from 10pm until 5am (unless accompanied by a passenger aged over 30) and a ban on carrying passengers under 30 for all novice drivers aged under 30.

The report also said a ban on any mobile phone use (including hands-free) and a lower alcohol limit should also be considered for young drivers.

After the 12-month probationary licence, drivers would automatically graduate to a full licence and unrestricted driving.

TRL says this graduated driver licensing system could reduce accident casualties by more than 4,000 a year.

More than one in fifth of deaths on Britain’s roads in 2011 involved drivers aged 17 to 24, and around ten per cent of novice drivers are caught committing an offence within their probationary period.

AA president, Edmund King, says: “There are many proposals in the report with merit and which are advocated by the AA.

“Road safety on the national curriculum is something we have long campaigned for and I am pleased to see it being recommended here. Likewise, we would also support learner drivers being allowed on motorways with their instructor.

“However, the extreme end of this report could be seen as just recommending taking novice drivers off the road by regulation and restriction rather than helping them develop the right attitudes and skills to provide them with the mobility they need.

“The academic report has raised a number of options for debate and careful consideration. The question is how many of its recommendations will be acceptable to the Government and public at large.”

Sue Snoddy, Casualty Reduction and Road Safety Partnership Manager in Bradford, says: “Any initiative which aims to reduce young driver casualties must be welcomed. The Graduated Driver Licence would allow new drivers to build up the experience they need by reducing their exposure to unnecessary risk and peer pressure.”

Local driving instructor, Reg Cranage, chairman of Ilkley Road Safety committee, says while he welcomes the recommendations in principle, he believes parts of it are a little excessive.

“Each learner is individual and unless the driving can be properly assessed, it is taking a mallet to crack an egg.”

But he adds almost anything to make young people safer has to be welcomed.

Chris Smith, who runs Driving Mode driving school in Low Moor, isn’t convinced it would work.

“I cannot understand how they will police it,” he says, referring to the night-time driving curfew recommended for young drivers.

Chris suggests a two stage test where young drivers have to undertake a certain amount of hours and take their test 12 months later, but be re-tested on a regular basis.

Chris Till, treasurer of the Bradford Driving Instructors Association, says he recalls a similar proposal being made 20 years ago.

“And nothing happened,” he says.

Chris believes attitudes need changing. “You can give drivers all the training in the world - they have made the testing more difficult, but if you have got an irresponsible driver in a car if you don’t change the attitude that is where the problem lies.

“At the end of the day if they are going to be irresponsible there is nothing we can do as instructors or examiners. You are not getting to the root of the problem.”