17:04
Tieng Anh Vui
Teenagers could have to wait a year longer than currently before they are allowed to take their driving test.
The government is considering issuing only 12-month probationary licences at the age of 18 in a bid to cut accidents involving young motorists.
New drivers would also face a curfew between 22:00 and 05:00 unless a passenger aged over 30 was in the vehicle.
Ministers are due to publish proposals in a Green Paper following a report by the Transport Research Laboratory.
It recommended a one-year "learner stage" during which drivers would have to total at least 100 hours of daytime and 20 hours of night-time practice under supervision.
Statistics show that more than a fifth of deaths on British roads in 2011 involved drivers aged 17-24.
'Improving safety'
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Young drivers drive around 5% of all the miles driven in Britain but are involved in about 20% of the crashes where someone is killed or seriously injured.
"We are committed to improving safety for young drivers and reducing their insurance costs - that is why we are publishing a Green Paper later in the year setting out our proposals.
"This will include a discussion about how people learn to drive.
"The research report has been produced by the Transport Research Laboratory under commission by the Department for Transport and it, amongst other things, has informed the Green Paper."
Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation motoring research charity, welcomed the proposals.
He said: "Young people are four times more likely to die in a road accident than as a result of drink or drugs.
"Yet, as a society we seem to turn a blind eye to the carnage. If this was any other area of public health there would be an outcry.
"This is about ensuring their long-term safety and mobility. Not curtailing it."
Edmund King, president of motoring organisation the AA, said: "There are many proposals in the report with merit and which are advocated by the AA.
"However, at the extreme end 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."
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