Noble novice driver on the ring road (4)
I believe the answer is:
lord
'noble' is the definition.
(I know that noble can be written as Lord)
'novice driver on the ring road' is the wordplay.
'novice driver' becomes 'L' (as in an L-plate for learner drivers).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'the ring' becomes 'o' (letter resembling a ring).
'road' becomes 'rd' (abbreviation for road).
'l'+'o'+'rd'='LORD'
(Other definitions for lord that I've seen before include "Titled peer of the realm" , "Male peer" , "10th" , "Member of the aristocracy" , "Feudal superior" .)