GETTING behind the wheel of a car should be made a lot tougher with motor safety experts calling on compulsory licence tests every five years to help curb the growing carnage on NSW roads.

They say motorists also need to vastly improve their skills by undertaking refresher courses to stamp out "bad driving habits" and learn new road rules.

Leading road-safety campaigner and founder of the national driver safety program, CARMA, Russell White, said NSW drivers tended to use road rules as a guideline rather than the law.

"The care factor is just not there," Mr White said. "Road rules are probably one of the biggest things that people don't bother re-focusing on.

"We need to re-intensify the focus on the outcomes - whether it is an online refresher course every few years or sending out more messages about new changes to road rules via email, something needs to be done."

Mr White said a mandatory theory test every five years would ensure road rules were at the forefront of every motorist's mind.

NRMA's head of Safer Driving, Evan Bromiley, said a refresher training course for state licence holders would be beneficial in ensuring better safety on our roads.

"A lot of drivers tend to get into bad habits over a period of time," he said.

"We think people should obey the road rules and we would certainly encourage the government to do all they can to ensure people are aware of the current rules and any changes which take place."

Currently, there is no follow-up driving assessment for fully licensed drivers until they reach the age of 85, when they must complete a test every two years.

An annual medical assessment is compulsory for NSW licence holders once they turn 75 years.

The validity of the driving test was called into question this week after The Sunday Telegraph arranged for three drivers to re-sit their practical exam and two failed.

Grace Louey, an instructor with 1st Class Driving School, tested three drivers aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s in Bronte on Thursday and said it didn't surprise her that only one passed. "NSW drivers do not know the road rules and they are also quite aggressive on the road," Ms Louey said.

"When I take people for driving lessons, they will get themselves in 10 to 15 dangerous situations."

Ms Louey, who has more than 15 years experience as an instructor, said all three drivers didn't know basic rules like checking for blind spots, leaving