The AA's president has recommended that new, young drivers face harsher restrictions after passing their test, including not being able to carry any passengers. If it were ever introduced, the "graduated" driving license would put extra conditions on a driver for the first six months.
Have your say! Should young people face harsher restrictions for the first six months after passing their tests? Which age group are the most unsafe drivers in your opinion? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.
Edmund King, president of the AA, repeated his call for graduated driving licences following the jailing of Thomas Johnson, 19, who was travelling at up to 100mph before his car hit a tree in the village of Marcham, Oxfordshire, in June last year. He was filmed inhaling laughing gas at the wheel before the high speed crash, which killed three friends.
Johnson was jailed for nine years and four months at Oxford crown court last week after pleading guilty to three charges of causing death by dangerous driving, reports The Times.
The AA's idea is to introduce a "graduated driving licence" (GDL), like those seen in the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden. This would change how new drivers are treated on the roads for a period of time, at which point they would become ordinary road users.
A GDL would prevent new drivers from being able to carry passengers of a similar age to them for six months after passing their test. The AA also wants six points on a licence for not wearing a seatbelt, which means that a licence would be revoked immediately for anyone who passed a test in the last two years.
To help the police identify "graduate" drivers, the AA proposed a "G" plate to be displayed on their car's number plate, instead of the standard number plate.
They estimate that at least 58 lives would be saved and 934 fewer people would be seriously injured in road crashes each year if the GDL was introduced. Department for Transport (DfT) figures show 290 people were killed and 4,669 were seriously injured in crashes on Britain’s roads last year involving at least one driver aged 17-24.
Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “The Thomas Johnson case had all the hallmarks that prove why it is a no brainer. It was at night. It was a rural road. There were passengers in the car. Most of them were unbelted. They were distracted.
“We would still argue that if he had had six months of driving on his own, getting more used to the roads, more used to situations that drivers encounter, that would still have a positive effect on his driving.
“That’s why we believe six months is the right amount of time. It doesn’t need to be 12 months, because in the first six is when the novelty of being behind the wheel starts to wear off and people start to understand the dangers of driving.”
Have your say! Should young people face harsher restrictions for the first six months after passing their tests? Which age group are the most unsafe drivers in your opinion? Comment below, and join in on the conversation.
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