'Four times more likely to crash' - Mum backs campaign for restrictions on new drivers

A Cumbrian mum is campaigning for a change in the law for newly passed drivers, after her daughter was killed in a car crash.

Caitlin Huddleston was killed on the A595 near Bootle in 2017 where she was a front seat passenger.

Her friend driving the car, who also died in the crash, had passed her driving test just four months earlier.

Speaking to ITV Border, Sharron Huddleston, said: “We are hearing it week after week now that cars full of teenagers are being killed.

"I know now that Caitlin would be alive if we had certain elements of graduated driving licences implemented in this country.

"That is where young drivers do not carry their young or teenage friends as passengers for a limited time after passing their test.

"This allows them to gain experience driving solo or with an older experienced driver with them. We know through research that they are up to four times more likely to crash when carrying passengers.

“The positives for a graduated driving licence would be to reduce road casualties and that would take the pressure off the NHS.

"If there are less young deaths on the road then insurance premiums would be a lot less as well.

"A graduated driving licence would reduce those deaths on the road. It is a positive law."

Sharron added: "It is a lonely place, campaigning.

"I have reached out to other families as well and we have set up a group called ‘Forget Me Not Families Uniting’ because we do feel forgotten about.

"It devastates families, this can’t go on any longer. Enough is enough with these young deaths on our roads."

Edmund King OBE, AA President said: “The AA is launching our motoring manifesto and one of the main points is around the safety of young drivers.

"20% of young drivers crash in their first year and up to 1500 are killed or seriously injured each year.

"What we are saying is for the first six months or so we should limit the number of passengers young drivers have so they can gain experience rather than crashing early on and costing lives.

“One of the ways to police this would be if we introduced a mandatory ‘P’ plate on the cars.

"Then the police and others would know if there were same age passengers in the car then they would be able to stop that vehicle.

“What we find with young drivers is every extra passenger that is in the car, it increases the chances of crashing by four times.

"Passengers in the car may be rowdy, they might not have their seatbelts on, they may encourage the driver to speed.

"All of these elements actually add to the risk. We know from countries like Australia and New Zealand where they have graduated licences crashes are reduced from between 20 to 40%."

In a statement, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: “While the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, any death is a tragedy which is why we continue working tirelessly to improve road safety for everyone.

“Our THINK! campaign is specifically targeted at young male drivers, and we have commissioned research designed to help learner and newly-qualified drivers improve their skills and safety.”

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