TRANSPORT minister Lord Whitty has backed calls for driver training to become a necessity not an option in the Government's crusade to reduce the number of company car drivers killed or injured in road accidents. According to Institute of Advanced Motorists' figures, a company car driver clocking up 25,000 miles a year has a one in 8,000 chance of being involved in a fatal accident.

And it says that more than 90% of such accidents are caused by driver error rather than problems with the car. The IAM is calling on the Government to take the next step in reducing road casualties by making driver education a major strategy for road safety in the new millennium.

Christopher Bullock, the IAM's chief executive, said: 'It is the IAM's conviction that the welcome reduction in road accidents in recent years is more a result of safer cars and better roads than any real improvement in driving skill, attitude or behaviour.'

He said: 'Research has shown that advanced drivers have fewer than half the accidents experienced by the average driver. Simple arithmetic suggests that if everyone on the road was an advanced driver or rider, every year more than 1,500 lives could be saved and 20,000 serious injuries prevented.' Lord Whitty said: 'It is clear that driver training does reduce the number of accidents and should be actively encouraged.'