FLEETS are being warned they face prosecution if caught employing driver training companies that do not use Government-approved instructors.

The warning has been made by the Driving Standards Agency, which is in the process of drawing up new guidelines governing the training of company car drivers designed to tighten the existing law which demands that training companies employ Advanced Driving Instructors.

However, some driver trainers flout this law, contained in the 1988 Road Traffic Act, slamming the DSA as 'toothless' and openly challenging it to take them to court. The section of the act relating to the law reads: 'It is illegal for an unregistered or unlicensed person to give paid instruction in the driving of a car and for a person to employ such a person.'

The DSA admits a lack of evidence has stopped it taking a single training organisation to court since the law was introduced, but is placing the emphasis on fleets to stick to the letter of the law.

An agency spokesman said: 'We haven't had a test case yet because we've had problems getting the evidence to establish whether a company is acting illegally. But we are pursuing a number of reported incidents of unregistered instruction taking place and if the evidence is available we will prosecute.'