These proposals sound good in practice but what we really need is some traffic Police to enforce existing road traffic law.
In London the met police are getting rid of traffic police entirely which is why a driving license is only optional, and rules of the road, like stopping at red lights, not using front fog lights unless visibility is less than 100metres or using a hand held mobile phone whilst driving are all routinely broken.

An effective Police force would save many many more lives.

Ed, London,

Garth Strong: I'm not sure what teenage pregnancies have to do with the driving age, but surely raising the age of consent will have little difference given the numbers getting pregnant below the current age of consent!

Bill Duffay, London,

The statistics make bad science, as the assumption is that it is age to blame. Actually Its the inexperience that is the cause, not specifically the age - so if you put the age up a year, then the deaths will just shift up a year. Does common sense take a big shift up from 17 to 18 - I doubt it. I think there should be a zero alcohol limit for drink driving for 17-25 year olds

David Caston, Aberdeen, Scotland

Being a younger driver myself, I feel the sting of all the stigma that goes with being a younger driver, oh all 17/18 year old males are boy racers.. I have a comfortable job and I drive a 1.6 Mini ONE, costing me £130 a month in insurance. Why? because there are so many idiots my age that feel the need to drive around like complete birks, example, im chuntering along at 30mph though Residential Cannock on my way toward Stafford, and then all I hear outside is a Hiss and a Massive exhaust.. and low and behold a Fiat Punto filled with young lads comes racing past me at near enough 60 mph. Why? do that on a residential road? I've been driving, near enough a year now on my own, I take my time and I drive sensibly, speed occasionally when appropriate, guess who still has a clean licence, and a clean concience, how people feel the right to put my life into their hands by driving round like a complete pratt, I honestly do not know.

Sam, Norton Canes, Cannock, Staffordshire

Based on the DfT track record over the past ten years, I would put little store in any statistics presented to back these views. This is the agency that can take a 10 to 12% year on year decrease in both fatalities and serious injured prior to 1993, reduce the trend rate by half and claim success in leading road safety.

The DfT has become adept at hiding it's failing in road safety by focusing on the misleading and spinning statistics to meets it's pre-determined ends.

What is need is a clear and independent review of road safety policy in the UK and a clear admittance of the failures of policy since 1993.

M Cosgrove, New Delhi, India

There is no point in introducing new laws while the old ones are not enforced!
Roads with 30 miles restriction going through local villages are use as ratruns to the A34 at 40 to 50 miles an hour. No realistic attempt is made to enforde the law. I understand that nothing will be done before some local children are killed!

H. Gutfreund, Upton, Oxford

The age should be lowered to 16. It should be compulsory for all children to ride and use cycles to gain road craft. They should then progress to of road driving centres such as that at Hornchurch in Essex learning car control for 6 months and then given their L plates.

My son started at Hornchurch when he was 14 and had a race license at 15

Stuart Bailey, Colchester, Essex

It is well past time that the government took action with more than 1000 young people dying every year.
Unfortunately a significant factor is the total lack of respect for any kind of authority shown by a sector of our population, of all ages, which ensures some young people will never be taught to take responsibility for their actions, on the road or elsewhere.
These "misfits" need to be weeded out during training and testing and kept off the roads so the rest of the population can travel more safely. Accidents will always happen but driving sensibly can greatly reduce their severity.

Jim Andress, Chippenham, Wiltahire

Why don't they just put teenagers in diapers too while they're at it. Just in case. I love that they think a two year difference is going to make such an impact. When this doesn't work, then they'll say the 18 and 19 year olds are the problem. And I just love this one the most:

"18 per cent of all new drivers were involved in at least one crash within a year. This falls to 13 per cent in the second year"

That's because they 've had a year to get better at driving. It has nothing to do with the age of the driver.

Bob S., London, UK

Raising the age of consent works well and we can see in the US where there are hardly any teenage pregnancies........right

Also having less than 2 years driving experience doesn't mean a person is necessarily under 20. Raising the age to 18 will still result in plenty of collisions involving those under 25. Maturity and driving ability will not drastically increase thanks to raising the age by a year.

drf, London,

surely restricting new drivers to low powered cars, preventing the baseball capped, testosterone laden halfwits who we see everyday, from driving high powered GT donorwagons. Would be a better way than denying the majority of new drivers their first years experience.
The idiot brigade will still be the idiot brigade at 18, moving the goalposts will just move the fatalities up a year.

Keith Wilson, Beziers, France

Raising the agoe of consent does not stop girls getting pregnant. It just criminalises them.

Tony Huby, Leeds,

TWO GOOD MOVES!

Good move! Will save lives and reduce the incidence of traffic accidents and serious injuries.

Now raise the age of consent to protect young British girls and to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancies!

Garth Strong, San Diego, USA

Young drivers can get too easily distracted while driving. They should be required to show P plates on a car for the first twelve months after passing their driving test. During this period young drivers (i.e. those under 21) should not be allowed to take passengers.

Dr Peter Jepson, Hersham, England

Labour's answer to everything is more education. Will they please tell me how they propose to educate 17 or 18 year-olds out of driving (showing off) to or from nightclubs 4 up on their mobiles with tremendous din?
Living alongside a semi-rural A road has educated me inthe realization that there is a procession of speeding racket infested cars from 8pm to 3am.
Telling me half nighttime driver fatalitites are under 25 is merely to say most nighttime drivers are under 25; what about the other half? they're all killed by falling asleep I suppose?

To make any real difference they will need to raise the driving age to 25. Nothing else will work. Anyone tried to work out the consequences of that?

Chris ex Instructor, Malvern, UK