Children aged 10 learning how to drive after calls to 'reduce legal driving age'

Kids aged 10 are learning how to drive amid renews calls for licence rule changes. Children as young as 10-years-old are learning how to drive as a way of spreading the cost as the Cost of Living crisis continues up and down the country.

It costs more than £2,000 to learn how to drive, and the RAC reports the typical beginner needs around 45 hours of on-the-road tuition, in addition to a further 22 hours of further practice. Research from TrackDays.co.uk has reported a spike in the number of people looking to get driver training for those under 17.

The number has risen 120 per cent since the start of the year. Dan Jones, Operations Manager at TrackDays.co.uk, said: “The cost of passing your driving test is now eye-watering, even before you factor in the rising cost of fuel and insurance.

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"It is encouraging to see smart-thinking young adults and their parents are planning ahead to get behind the wheel as early as possible to learn the essentials which will reduce the investment needed when they reach their 17th birthday."

Your practical driving test is the last step before getting your full driving licence. The DVSA charge £62 for tests on weekdays, and £75 if you want to take your test at the weekend. Whether it’s second hand, straight from the forecourt, or your parents kindly foot the bill, the average first car in Britain costs from £3,000-£8,000 (avg of £5,500).

He said people who were looking to train before they could pass their test would benefit and it would "pay dividends in the future.” It comes weeks after a new Parliament petition has pushed for the changes with a campaigner stressing 13 year olds “can be trusted” to get behind the wheel.

Petition creator Yusuf said: “I would like the government to change the legal driving age to 13 because I believe that 13+-year-olds can be trusted to drive a car and should be able to get a driving licence. I want the government to do this because I think 13-year-olds are old enough to get a driver licence.”