• Two thirds of people would like to see P plates become mandatory
  • Results revealed in online poll by Motorpoint, the UK’s leading independent car retailer
  • New drivers are currently not required to display a P plate on their vehicles even though one in five are involved in a car accident during their first year behind the wheel

A new poll from the UK’s leading independent car retailer found 70 per cent of people want newly qualified drivers to have to automatically display P plates on their vehicle after passing their driving test. Some 590 people took part in the poll on the Motorpoint website – www.motorpoint.co.uk

Currently there is no legal requirement for new drivers to display a P plate except in Northern Ireland where it is compulsory for everyone to display an R plate (restricted driver plates) for a year after passing their test. This comes as new research revealed that 21.6 per cent of new drivers are involved in a car accident during their first year of driving.

Mark Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer of Motorpoint, said: “The results of the Motorpoint poll clearly show that more serious consideration needs to be given to whether or not P plates should become mandatory throughout the UK for an agreed period of time or at least until a new qualified driver feels confident enough to remove them.”