Grahame King blames the poor driving of young drivers on their instructors (Jan 9).

Driving instructors do not themselves choose the level of skill to be passed on to their pupils.

They are trained to teach a specific syllabus set by the Driving Standards Agency.

They have to pass rigorous exams and are retested every few years, unlike any other professionals.

The driving test, which Mr King's 20-year-old courier had presumably passed is based on this syllabus and is one of the most difficult in the world.

On his driving test, the young man satisfied the examiner that his training had met the standards laid down by the DSA. What more does Mr King expect the driving instructor to do?

Pupils pay by the hour, and few can afford the luxury of unlimited lessons to learn skills beyond the official syllabus, and even fewer want to.

There is a voluntary DSA scheme in place called Pass Plus in which instructors can coach successful driving test candidates additional skills, such as motorway driving, which is illegal prior to the test.

Sadly, too few pupils take the opportunity. For most of them, an additional six hours of tuition is seen as an unnecessary expense.

After they have passed their driving test, young people quickly unlearn much of what they have been taught.

I would be more than willing to take Mr King out for an hour's assessment of his driving.

The standard I would expect of him would, of course, be far higher than the driving test, but unless he has recently passed an advanced test set by the Institute of Advanced Motorists or RoSPA, or is an advanced police driver, I suspect he would exhibit variations on the faults he sees in young drivers, and which he blames on their instructors.

Tony Belcher
Brightwell Avenue
Westcliff