Parents could be banned from teaching their children how to drive under proposals to reduce the number of deaths among new drivers.

If the plans go ahead, lessons from a government-approved instructor would become compulsory for all learners.

The aim is to reduce the 300 deaths a year caused by drivers with less than two years' experience.

However, tougher rules on new drivers, such as curfews at night and a lower drink-drive limit were dropped by the Government.

The Department for Transport is believed to have decided to focus on how drivers were taught before the test.

The test itself might be changed to include more "real world" driving, and less "turn by turn" instruction.

Andrew Howard, Head of Road Safety at the AA, said: "A harder test would inevitably lead to more people deciding to drive without a licence, as we saw when the tests were changed in the late-1990s."

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