A motoring organisation has called for newly licensed drivers to be issued a new plate and be put under certain regulations after passing their driving test.
The AA has proposed that new drivers under 21 should be prohibited from carrying passengers of the same age for six months after they obtain their licence. It also wants these drivers to be handed six penalty points for not wearing a seatbelt during the same period, resulting in the loss of their licence.
To aid police enforcement, the AA said a “G” plate should be displayed on young drivers’ cars to highlight that they are a “graduate” driver. This system is a form of graduated driving licensing (GDL) which is already used in several countries, such as the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.
The AA estimated that implementing GDL in the UK could save at least 58 lives and prevent 934 serious injuries in road accidents each year. This comes in light of Department for Transport (DfT) data showing that 290 people were killed and 4,669 were seriously injured in crashes last year involving at least one driver aged 17-24 on Britain’s roads.
AA chief executive Jakob Pfaudler said: “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.”
In July 2019, the DfT announced under the Conservative government that it was exploring the introduction of GDL in England. However, the assessment was paused in autumn 2020 due to concerns about its potential effects on young people’s employment.
In 2014, The Scottish Government called on the UK Government to consider proposals for GDL, or to transfer powers of the currently reserved matter to Scotland.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said at the time: “I’m calling for the UK Government to take action on GDL without further delay. I consider that I am acting in the interests of the people of Scotland. However, should UK Ministers ultimately decide not to move forward on this issue, I would ask again that they devolve the necessary powers to Scottish Ministers.”
The most favoured aspect of the AA’s proposal, based on an online survey of 10,566 members, was passenger restrictions, with 33 percent of respondents expressing their support.
Director of the AA Charitable Trust, Edmund King said: “The introduction of passenger restrictions would help mitigate the increased risk young drivers have to manage when they have peer-aged passengers travelling with them. A six-month restriction is a small price to pay for saving young lives.
“There is a great swell of support for the introduction of GDL so this Government has a real opportunity to make it happen and save lives. The very recent inquest into the tragic deaths of four young men is a stark reminder that action needs to be taken to protect young lives, and it needs to be taken sooner rather than later.”
Last week, Kate Robertson, a senior coroner from North-West Wales, expressed worries about young, newly qualified drivers having passengers in their cars following the drowning of four teenagers whose car rolled into a ditch in November 2023.
A DfT spokesperson claimed: “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.
“That’s why we are committed to delivering a new road safety strategy – the first in over a decade – and will set out next steps on this in due course.”
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