Letter: Youngsters can't afford the costs of motoring

Letter: The cost of motoring for young drivers - £9,000 - is ridiculous. No wonder many chance it and drive without a licence or insurance.

In 1957, the cost of four lessons and the driving test was five pounds, at Mr Marsden's East Yorkshire School of Motoring, Dogpole, Shrewsbury.

I passed the test in Mr Marsden's Triumph Herald, then bought a Ford 10 van for £2, with tax still on it and insured it with Mr Reece, of Church Stretton, at a cost of £2-3-6d (£2.17) for 12 months.

I was mobile for under a tenner (petrol was seven gallons for £1) - a different world then.

Maybe we should copy New Zealand, where children of 15 drive to school in cars, and insurance is not compulsory!

WF Kerswell

Picklescott