LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's newly appointed transport minister found himself in a jam Wednesday after it emerged his experience with roads and highways might be limited -- he can't drive.

Stephen Byers was handed the top transport post after Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s landslide re-election on June 7, despite his reliance on public transport and chauffeur-driven cars to get around.

``He does not have a driving license and he never learned to drive,'' a Transport Ministry spokesman said.

``But this does not in any way impact his ability to perform his job. He is familiar with the highway system and by comparison, the health minister is not a doctor,'' he said.

Nevertheless, motoring groups pounced on the 48-year-old Byers, saying a transport minister should possess an intimate knowledge of drivers' needs.

``It certainly would be useful to look at most of these issues through the eyes of a driver,'' Andrew Howard of the Automobile Association told the London's Evening Standard newspaper.

Byers is not the first member of Blair's reshuffled cabinet to be lampooned for his lack of knowledge.

The new sports minister was ridiculed by the media Monday after he revealed a startling lack of knowledge about his country's top sportsmen.

Richard Caborn could not name the captain of the British Lions rugby team, any of the country's top jockeys or the coach of the England cricket team, when quizzed in a radio interview.

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