Women's Editor Diane Parkes finds out how thousands of drivers are being encouraged to venture out onto the roads again.

MILLIONS of people reduce their driving and some stop altogether because they are too scared to get behind the wheel.

According to motoring organisation the AA, one in six licence holders have taken a break from driving at some point, losing their skills and confidence.

Which is why the AA Charitable Trust organises Drive Confident courses aiming to encourage us to get back into the driving seat.

Since it launched one-to-one training sessions a year ago, the Drive Confident course has helped encourage 3,000 lapsed drivers back onto the road.

And now the AA is running pilots of a two-hour classroom course.

A total of 85 per cent of those taking up the AA course are women – despite the fact men are more than 70 per cent more likely to be involved in an accident.

To see how a quick refresher course can help, I joined a group in the company’s headquarters in Oldbury with instructor Alan Esam.

He devised the course after researching the situations that drivers found most challenging.

Busy roundabouts, parking, towns and cities, driving alone and driving at night top the list.

There was no doubt that huge gyratory roundabouts were a headache for many.

“Nobody knows where to go,” said one woman.

“And then people just cut you up,” added another.

“And woe betide you make a mistake – people just wave their arms and honk their horns at you like they have never made a mistake.”

Alan calmed the atmosphere with plenty of sensible advice.

“The first thing is to make sure you know the Highway Code,” he said.

“Driving is very emotive. In most cases the biggest barrier to confidence is fear.