For the past 22 years Lesley Young has thought of little else other than road safety. Since joining the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) as a driving examiner in 1985, she has progressed rapidly throughthe ranks and now presides as deputy chief driving examiner, the first woman to reach this position.

With Young as a role model, the days of DSA driving examiners being thought of as an exclusively male preserve are over. “As time has gone on we have improved the number of women coming into the job,” Young says. “In terms of the DSA there’s no glass ceiling. In fact we have a female chief executive and finance director.”

It was promotion prospects and variety that first attracted Young to the DSA. Her job includes remarkably varied activities: one day she is going into schools to talk to young people about road safety, the next she is conducting the driving test of a 29-year-old paraplegic.

“That certainly has to be one of the most memorable experiences,” she says. Earning his driving licence allowed the man to dramatically increase his mobility and independence.

Today she works closely with driving instructors, road safety officers and the police to shape the Government’s road safety strategy to reduce the number of road deaths and those seriously injured by 40 per cent by 2010. “I do think we can make a difference That’s a really key driver in why I go to work every day.”

She is also responsible for a large team of people across the UK, the conduct and future of the driving test and how examiners do their job.

So what does she believe makes a good driving examiner? “Good people skills, an interest in road safety and a desire to make a difference. They need to have an interest in driving and some experience, even if it’s just from shuttling the kids around. One of the most difficult things to do is teach people how to deal with other people and women generally have that as a natural skill,” she says.

“Women can build quite an easy environment for people to do their best – plus they have a better road safety record than men.”

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