New young drivers should not carry under-21s as passengers – AA

Drivers aged under 21 who have just passed their tests should be prevented from carrying passengers of a similar age for their first six months as drivers, the AA has said.

It suggested tougher rules that would also see them handed six penalty points for not wearing a seatbelt during the period – meaning they could lose their licence.

The motoring organisation says the proposal for a particular type of licence targeted at new, young drivers has the potential to prevent 934 serious injuries and save 58 lives on UK roads each year.

Similar measures – known as graduated driving licensing (GDL) – are already in place in countries including the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.

If it was brought in across the UK, it would mean young drivers marking their vehicles with G plates – with a failure to display them punishable with three points on their licence.

GDL already exists in Northern Ireland, and the Department for Transport (DfT) has said it is not currently considering it elsewhere in the UK.

The department’s 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.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5Live, Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of road policy, said what was noticable across countries with the policy in place was “a reduction of death and serious injuries to younger drivers and their passengers” by 20% to 40%.

Mr Cousens said that while the government was bringing forward a road safety strategy, at the moment it was “not convinced” of the need for GDL.

“We feel that something has to be done, so we’re going to keep banging this drum,” he said. “Hopefully the government will change tack and see that, actually, we need to make some changes for younger drivers.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “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.”