Mother of teen killed in car crash backs restrictions to cut 'needless deaths'

The AA said motorists should be prevented from carrying passengers of a similar age for at least six months after passing their test

The mother of one of four teenagers killed after a crash in North Wales is backing tighter rules for new drivers proposed by the AA.

Crystal Owen’s son, 17-year-old Harvey Owen, was found in an overturned and partially submerged car on November 21. He had been away on a camping trip with three of his friends, they had been travelling in a motor vehicle along the A4085 when it left the road.

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults. Nearly 5,000 people in the UK are killed or seriously injured in crashes involving at least one young driver each year.

One in five young drivers crash within a year of passing their test, the AA said.

“I think Harvey, like many people, didn’t understand the risks,” Ms Owen told ITV News.

She is backing calls to limit what new drivers can do on the road that she said would cut “needless deaths”.

The AA said motorists should be prevented from carrying passengers of a similar age for at least six months after passing their test.

It also called for new drivers to be required to keep a record showing they have driven on all types of roads.

These limitations would form part of graduated driving licences, which place restrictions on drivers for a set period after they pass their test.

They are used in several countries including the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.

Speaking to ITV News, Ms Owen said: “There are a number of countries where this has been implemented in over the past 30 years and it has proven to reduce deaths in every single one of these countries – between 20 to 40% fewer deaths, which is a huge amount of lives that can be saved.

“I think if it was any other way in which young people were being killed, the government would have done something sooner.”

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced in July 2019 it was considering introducing the licences in England.

But the assessment was halted in autumn 2020, partly due to the potential impact on young people’s employment.

Ms Owen said crashes are more likely to happen on a rural road, with passengers and within the first year of someone passing.

She said: “At the moment, the driving age was decided upon over 100 years ago and at 17 years old your brain isn’t fully developed. Coupled with carrying passengers their own age, they are more likely to crash.

“At the moment there isn’t a minimum amount of lessons that a person could have, so technically they could have five lessons and pass a test. Rural roads aren’t given the attention that they should be – you’re 72% more likely to crash on a rural road, yet everyone just concentrates on the motorways.”

AA president Edmund King said: “One of the major issues that needs to be addressed is the needless deaths of young drivers, their passengers and others caught up in these crashes.

“Each year nearly 5,000 people are killed or seriously injured in crashes involving at least one young driver.

“One in five young drivers crash within a year of passing their test.

“Most people don’t realise, until it is too late, that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults.

“We owe it to the next generation to introduce positive measures that will help give them healthy and prosperous lives.”

Sharron Huddleston, whose 18-year-old daughter Caitlin died as a passenger in a car crash in Cumbria in 2017, has formed Forget-me-not Families Uniting, a campaign group for people who have lost loved ones in road collisions.

She said: “Graduated licences are a crucial issue. How many more young people need to die before action is taken?

“We can’t sit back any longer and just watch as more and more young people are killed or seriously injured in road collisions.

“My daughter Caitlin would be alive today if action had been taken when the concept of graduated licences was floated years ago.”

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.

”The plea for graduated licences was issued as part of the AA’s so-called motoring manifesto ahead of local and mayoral elections in May, and a general election on a date still to be announced.

The Creating Confidence for Drivers document calls for measures such as better fuel price transparency, reducing VAT on public electric vehicle charging, using technology to make more permanent pothole repairs, and setting clear targets to reduce road deaths.