Government says no extra restrictions on new drivers

The government has told bereaved families it has no plans to place greater restrictions on young and newly qualified drivers.

It was responding at a Westminster Hall debate organised by Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley, to discuss road safety.

The debate was attended by people who have lost loved ones to crashes, including Crystal Owen from Shrewsbury, whose 17-year-old son Harvey died alongside three friends in a crash in North Wales.

Ms Owen said graduated driving licences would protect new drivers from peer pressure by stopping them from carrying peer-aged passengers.

Ms Buckley told the gathering of almost 30 MPs: “One in five newly qualified drivers has a crash within their first year on the road.”

If there were any other leading cause of death of our young people, we would declare this a public health emergency and prioritise resources to tackle this crisis.”

She said the problem was particularly acute in rural areas, as these roads are more likely to see fatalities.

“This is the number one killer of young people under the age of 29. I haven’t yet met an MP in this House who doesn’t have a case in their constituency,” she said.

Since her son’s death in November 2023, Ms Owen has been campaigning to reduce the number of young people killed on the country’s roads.

She is part of Forget Me Not Families Uniting – a group of more than 100 people who have lost loved ones to collisions involving young drivers.

They have called for the government to introduce graduated driving licences, which would mean newly qualified drivers faced restrictions.

This could include banning them from carrying younger passengers, a late-night driving curfew for the first six months after passing, as well as other measures like a minimum learning period.

Ms Owen said they wanted to protect young people – not control them.

“There would be exemptions for teenage parents and certain jobs”, she explained, adding that limitations would “take away the peer pressure for young drivers”.

The campaign is aiming to introduce graduated licences for 17 to 19-year-olds.

Ms Owen pointed out that “many laws have been put in place to protect the general public”, citing recent efforts to gradually outlaw smoking.

Another suggestion made at the debate was that drivers should be forced to carry an emergency glass hammer to smash window glass or cut a seatbelt in an emergency.

Ms Buckley told MPs: “We could call them ‘Harvey’s Hammer’ in memory of one young man from Shrewsbury whose legacy has brought us all here today.”

Responding for the UK government, the roads minister, Lilian Greenwood, acknowledged this was an area of “huge public concern” and said she was committed to engaging as her department develops its policies.

“Whilst we are not considering graduated licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic collisions on our roads, and that is why we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers,” she said.

She added that she would take the suggestion of “Harvey’s Hammer” back to officials for further consideration.

Ms Owen was among dozens of families watching the debate in Westminster. She said she was happy to see a large number of MPs turn out for the debate and that the minister had listened and been visibly moved by what she had heard.

But she said progress had been slow and added: “It’s been debated for so many years now, and we can’t sit back knowing that these crashes are going to continue.”

She also said the day had been extremely emotional for those present.

“I’ve not stopped crying all day. We shouldn’t have to be here holding our pictures of our kids; we should be enjoying our lives with them.”

Ms Owen added that she felt “obliged” to keep campaigning.

“We just can’t sit back as parents. I’ve got other children, and I know that if this law isn’t changed, then they are at risk.”