The AA has said drivers under 21 who have just passed their tests should be prevented from carrying passengers of a similar age for their first six months on the road.
There are also suggestions that six penalty points for not wearing a seatbelt during this period should be introduced – meaning young drivers could be placed at greater risk of losing their licence.
The motoring organisation, a long-standing provider of vehicle insurance, breakdown assistance, and driving advice since 1905, has stated that introducing a new type of license specifically for young drivers could help prevent up to 934 serious injuries and save as many as 58 lives on UK roads each year.
The proposition isn’t a new one, and such licences are already in use in Northern Ireland, the US, Canada, Sweden and Australia. Graduated driving licenses (GDLs), also known as Progressive Licenses, not only restrict the number of peer-aged passengers a driver can have accompany them in their vehicle but also impose curfews which prevent them from driving at late hours for an interim period after passing their tests. Regardless, the Department for Transport (DfT) has stated it is not currently considering the measures for England.
Campaigner Crystal Owen told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that bringing in GDLs of licence would “massively help” reduce collisions and traffic accidents. Owens said, “There are not many times when having to take your friends in the car is a necessity. It’s to protect drivers, it’s to save lives, and what is the alternative?”
Mrs Owen’s son Harvey died in a car crash in November 2023 along with three of his peers while on a camping trip in north Wales.
She added: “Their lives [are] gone – for what? For the sake of a few inconveniences for a very short time?”
Owen has co-founded a campaign group, Forget-me-not Families Uniting, calling for the introduction of a GDL, and has launched a petition on Change.org, which says: “With one in every five newly qualified drivers crashing within their first year and young drivers being at higher risk of being involved in a fatal crash when carrying peer age passengers, there is an urgent need to act now to save lives.”
The law, as it currently stands in the UK, dictates new drivers’ licences can be cancelled if drivers get six or more points within two years of passing their test. More experienced drivers can be banned with 12 or more penalty points within three years.
In a discussion with BBC Radio, AA’s Head of road policy, Jack Cousens, remarked that what was noticeable across countries with the policy was “a reduction of death and serious injuries to younger drivers and their passengers” by 20% to 40%.
“We feel that something has to be done, so we’re going to keep banging this drum,” he said. “Hopefully the government will change tack and see that, actually, we need to make some changes for younger drivers.”
In response, a DfT spokesperson said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
“Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are considering other measures to tackle this problem and protect young drivers.”
Under the Conservative government, the DfT first announced in July 2019 that it was considering introducing GDL in England. The assessment was halted in autumn 2020, however, partly due to worries concerning the potential impact on young people’s employment.
Source: New young drivers should not carry under-21s as passengers – AA
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