Should young drivers face harsher laws on the road?

The AA has called for increased restrictions on new, young drivers, particularly suggesting a ban on carrying passengers of a similar age following concerns raised by a coroner after the tragic deaths of four teenagers in a car accident in North Wales last year.

An inquest last week revealed the young driver, 18-year-old Hugo Morris, had passed his driving test just over six months before he lost control of his car and rolled into a ditch on the way to a camping trip in Snowdonia.

He and his three friends Jevon Hirst, 16, Harvey Owen, 17, and Wilf Fitchett, 17, all from Shropshire, were killed after drowning in the ditch off the A4085 in Garreg, Llanfrothen, which had flooded due to heavy rain.

Senior coroner for north west Wales, Kate Robertson, announced she would write to the Department for Transport and the DVLA to express her concerns that fatalities could continue unless restrictions are placed on newly qualified drivers carrying passengers.

In pursuit of safer driving practices, the AA is advocating for the implementation of a "graduated driving licence" (GDL) system, akin to those established in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, and Sweden. Under this scheme, there would be temporary changes to the freedoms of newly qualified drivers until they gain full status as regular road users.

Have your say! Should newer, younger drivers face more controls on what they can and can't do on the roads? What do you think about the young drivers that you know? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.

The GDL program proposed would mean newly licensed individuals being unable to ferry peers of their own age group for a duration of six months from obtaining their licence. Moreover, the AA is championing the introduction of an automatic licence revocation for not wearing a seatbelt, where accruing 6 points within two years of passing the driving test would result in losing one's licence.

For the ease of police enforcement, the AA suggests that cars driven by these novice motorists should display a distinctive "G" plate, instead of the usual number plate, to clearly indicate their "graduate" status.

They estimate that at least 58 lives would be saved, and 934 fewer people would sustain serious injuries in road accidents each year with the introduction of the Graduated Driving Licence (GDL). According to Department for Transport (DfT) statistics, last year saw 290 fatalities and 4,669 serious injuries in Britain involving at least one driver between ages 17-24 on our roads.

Back in 2019 under the Conservative government's watch, the DfT had started to review the GDL system, but halted the study amid apprehensions about its effect on employment opportunities for the youth.

The AA's chief executive Jakob Pfaudler commented: "Not only is this a tragic waste of life, but it contributes to the burden of high insurance premiums for young drivers. These premiums should fall when there is evidence of a reduction of young drivers and passengers killed and seriously injured."

"Graduated driver licensing has been proven in other countries to significantly reduce road deaths and serious injuries. We are calling on the Transport Secretary to make simple, pragmatic changes to the licensing process so young people are better protected in their first few months of independent driving."

Have your say! Should newer, younger drivers face more controls on what they can and can't do on the roads? What do you think about the young drivers that you know? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.