Prohibited Passengers: Appeals to Ban Young Drivers from Carrying Passengers
Driving is a great responsibility, one that can seriously impact the lives of any road user if not taken seriously. With licenses being available from 17 years old, and 90% of passenger kilometres in 2023 being travelled by road, it is important that young drivers are able to drive safely and remember this responsibility, to protect not only others on the road, but themselves and their passengers.
Lack of experience can result in mistakes, and eagerness to use newfound freedom does cause newly qualified drivers to be more at risk of accidents. Due to the seriousness of this issue, there are already measures to combat this, with Pass Plus, a practical training course designed for newly qualified drivers. This course requires at least 6 hours, is taught by a registered approved driving instructor, and aims to help drivers improve their skills and confidence – car insurance discounts may even be offered to those who complete it. Despite this, a government report from 2023 found that a fifth of collisions caused by cars that killed or seriously injured (KSI) victims involved young drivers. The same report also states that male drivers aged between 17 and 24 are 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a car accident than all drivers aged over 25.
Although this figure is decreasing, given that from 2004 to 2023, KSI casualties from collisions with younger drivers fell 60%, from 12,257 to 4,959, younger drivers still -from 2019 to 2023 - were more likely to have ‘loss of control’ or ‘exceeding speed limit’ as factors in collisions than drivers of other ages, showing an evident recklessness.
To this end, the AA (Automobile Association) has proposed that drivers under the age of 21 should be banned from carrying passengers within the first six months of them passing their driving tests. This would require those affected to mark their cars with G plates, with failure to display when required punishable with 3 points on the offender’s license. Currently, driver’s licenses can be cancelled for 6 penalty points within two years of passing their test, but more experienced drivers can only be banned for 12 points within three years. This gives the proposal the potential to seriously impact young drivers, as they could be banned from driving for as little as not displaying the G plate twice within a two-year period.
Similar restrictions - known as Graduated Driving Licensing (GDL) - already exist in Northern Ireland. In Canada, all inexperienced drivers, regardless of age, are subject to restrictions. Putting the proposal into place could prevent an estimated 934 serious road accidents in the UK each year, saving around 58 lives annually.
Crystal Owens, mother of 17-year-old Harvey Owens, who, along with 3 friends, died in a car accident in November 2023, has stated: ‘There are not many times when having to take your friends in the car is a necessity. It’s to protect drivers, it’s to save lives, and what is the alternative?’ She believes the government should be doing more to protect young drivers and are ignoring advice from campaigners.
These restrictions may only apply to similarly aged passengers or only restrict carrying multiple passengers but would certainly be a significant loss of freedom for young drivers. As such, the proposal was met with backlash from some young people, many questioning why the elderly would not also face harsher restrictions. This would be reasonable if the restrictions were to be enforced, given drivers aged over 70 were responsible for 3,451 accidents in 2023.
Despite this, Edmund King, president of the AA, has stated it is a question of ‘balance’ between freedom and behaviour, and that the elderly often try to mitigate the effect of their condition, while younger drivers are simply more likely to behave recklessly.
Fortunately for new drivers, while the AA’s campaign did receive some notable public support, the government was ‘not convinced’ of the need for GDL, and has stated it will, for the present, focus their efforts on other potential road safety strategies. As such, the proposal will not be enacted in the near future, so young drivers need not be concerned about passenger restrictions for the time being.
Facts / Statistics:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgl5jvz0dqo.amp
Reported road casualties in Great Britain: younger driver factsheet, 2023 - GOV.UK
New young drivers should not have under-21s as passengers, says AA - BBC News
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