Passenger ban for young drivers in graduated licence call

The AA is reiterating its call on the next Government to introduce a graduated driver licence for newly qualified drivers.

It wants to limit same-age passengers for six months once they have passed their test in an effort to help address teenage deaths on the country’s roads.

In Britain, young drivers between the ages of 17 and 24 are involved in 24% of all collisions resulting in death or serious injury, even though this group accounts for just 7% of the total driving population.

An average of five people per day are killed on UK roads and 82 are seriously injured - more than 1,500 young drivers each year - with one in five young drivers crashing within a year of passing their test. 

Data from transport safety studies, car insurance companies and driving charities over many years has shown that drivers under the age of 24 are more likely to have crashes when they are carrying similar-aged passengers in their car, when driving at night and when driving conditions are difficult.

In response to this evidence, several countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many US states, have successfully introduced graduated driving licensing.

This has resulted in a reduction in deaths and serious injuries in crashes involving young drivers of between 20% and 40%. 

Edmund King, AA president, said: “One of the major issues that needs to be addressed is the needless deaths of young drivers, their passengers and others caught up in these crashes.

“Each year nearly 5,000 people are killed or seriously injured in crashes involving at least one young driver. One in five young drivers crash within a year of passing their test.

“The AA believes we need a system of graduated learning with a logbook whereby all learners need to demonstrate their skills on all types of roads and crucially on rural roads where 71% of new driver fatal crashes occur, and in different weather conditions and different times of day or night.”

The RAC has also been calling for action and, alongside the AA, supported a private member’s Bill to introduce a graduated driving licence, which fell by wayside when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the General Election.    

Parents of children killed by cars driven by young drivers, which formed a campaign group called Forget-me-not Families Uniting, have also called for the Government to introduce graduated driving licensing in the UK. 

King continued: “Once they have passed their test the driver shouldn’t be allowed to carry same age passengers for at least six months as research shows that with every same age passenger, they are four times more likely to crash.

“Most people don’t realise, until it is too late, that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults ages 5-29 years according to the World Health Organisation.

“We owe it to the next generation to introduce positive measures that will help give them healthy and prosperous lives.”

Sharron Huddleston, who formed the Forget-me-not Families Uniting group, asked how many more young people need to die before action is taken?

“We can’t sit back any longer and just watch as more and more young people are killed or seriously injured in road collisions,” she said.

“Our message to all political parties is simple – listen to us, listen to the experts, listen to the AA and learn from other countries, who have seen a huge reduction in young driver and passenger deaths after introducing graduated driving licensing for young novice drivers.

“My daughter, Caitlin, would be alive today if action had been taken when the concept of graduated licences was floated years ago.”