IT'S TOUGH on the streets with tailgating, boy racers, aggressive behaviour and heavy traffic making for a driving experience that even seasoned motorists sometimes dread.
And it is so much worse for those who, for various reasons have not driven for a while and do not feel confident to get back behind the wheel and mix in with the cut and thrust of everyday motoring.
Recent research by the AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety and the Environment has revealed that 16% of motorists questioned had stopped driving for three years or more and nearly 70,000 had avoided the roads for over 20 years.
Around 600,000 stated that they had been away from the wheel for so long they were not sure they could remember how to drive at all.
But help is at hand and if drivers act quickly it is free.
The trust has announced that it is to is to extend its Drive Confident programme of free refresher courses for lapsed or rusty drivers, after the scheme helped hundreds get back behind the wheel.
It will now provide another 1,000 two-hour courses free of charge, after the first 2,000 free places were snapped up by drivers keen to brush up on their skills.
The course has revealed that nearly three-quarters of nervous drivers can get back in the driving seat after as little as two hours of refresher training.
Lapsed or rusty drivers can apply for free Drive Confident courses online at: www.theaa.com/drive-confident. Those without Internet access can call 0800 009 4756.