With 1 in every 5 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. 

Why this is important: Last November, my beautiful 17-year-old son Harvey Owen and his three friends, all 18 and under, tragically lost their lives in a car crash. 

I was unaware, he was being driven to Wales by a newly qualified driver he had met at college, not the older, experienced driver I thought he was with. After sending me a photo from the house he was staying at, they set off for a camping trip. Less than two hours later, the car left the road on a bend and ended up in a water-filled ditch, causing them all to drown. Losing a child to an avoidable crash is an indescribable pain. 

My story is not unique, almost 5000 people are seriously injured or killed in a road traffic collision involving a young driver aged 25 and under, each year in the UK. 

The boys' deaths could have been prevented if Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) had been in place. GDL has proven effective worldwide for over 30 years, reducing deaths and serious injuries involving young, inexperienced drivers by up to 40%. I am now part of a campaign group of over 150 bereaved families called ‘Forget Me Not Families Uniting.’ 

Often the main argument against this change to driver licensing is that it restricts freedom. But my son's freedom has been taken away forever. No one believes it will happen to them, but tragically, 24% of those killed in crashes involving young drivers are the drivers themselves, 26% are passengers, and 50% are innocent people not even in the car. It can happen to anyone.

These short-term safety measures could prevent approximately 537 deaths and serious injuries each year in the UK where 17-19 year old drivers are involved.

Bereaved parents and the ‘Forget Me Not Families’ are urging the Department for Transport, and Louise Haigh, to introduce the following safety measures for newly qualified drivers aged 17 to 19: 
The reasonable changes we are calling for could include:

● Learner drivers should undergo a minimum 6-month learning period before being eligible for a practical test, ensuring they gain valuable experience on a variety of roads and in different weather conditions. 

● For the first 6 months after passing their test (or until they turn 20, whichever comes first), they should not carry passengers aged 25 or under unless accompanied by an older adult.

● Violating this rule should result in 6 penalty points, leading to immediate license suspension and the requirement to retake the practical test under the New Drivers Act 1995. 

Exemptions would apply for: 

● Young parents taking their own dependents. 

● People who qualify for the enhanced rate of mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). 

● Members of the armed forces or other drivers in the course of their in-work-duties.