Drivers are being urged to 'leave extra room around learners' by AA Driving School, after one in ten admit they don’t leave enough space when following a car with L plates.

Two per cent of drivers admitted tailgating learners and 11 per cent said they didn't leave more space in front of themselves if following a car with L plates, research by The AA Driving School has found.

The figure is slightly higher among younger drivers than older ones for tailgating and fewer younger drivers leave more space in front of themselves than older drivers do.

A quarter of respondents said they would be more likely to overtake a learner driver. This was higher in the younger age categories than older, with Northern Ireland the area most likely to do this with 49 per cent of drivers saying they would.

The AA Driving School surveyed qualified driver behaviours around learners and found that some positive behaviours scored highly including giving way to learner drivers but some negative behaviours scored highly as well.

Eighteen per cent said they would change routes to avoid a learner driver and 10 per cent said they would be less likely to give way to a learner.

Fourteen per cent of drivers admitted they got impatient when following a learner driver.