Mothers of young car crash victims call for tighter restrictions for new drivers

The grieving mothers of young car crash victims have called on the government to tighten restrictions on new drivers because “it will save lives”.

The mothers, who travelled from across the UK, hugged and wept on the steps of No 10 after they hand-delivered a 100,000-signature petition to Downing Street on Wednesday, calling for stricter licensing laws and graduated driving licences (GDL).

Crystal Owen started the petition after the death of her son Harvey, 17, and his three friends, Hugo Morris, 18, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Jevon Hirst, 16, all from Shrewsbury, after their car veered off a rural road.

Mr Morris lost control of his silver Ford Fiesta on the A4085 in Garreg, Llanfrothen, between Penrhyndeudraeth and Beddgelert, in November 2023 while on a camping trip to Snowdonia.

Ms Owen said “it will save lives” after handing over the petition where she was joined by mothers Bridget Lucas, Alison Greenhouse, Joanne Alkir, Nicola Bell-Percy and Naomi Crane, whose children, aged between 17 and 20, all died in car crashes in recent years.

Ms Owen said: “Why at 17 are they allowed to be in charge of a lethal weapon a day after passing their test and yet they are not allowed to buy alcohol?

“These laws are so outdated. Just because it has always been accepted does not make it right.

“Every time we hear stories about (fatal crashes) in the news, our hearts just break because we know that if the government had listened, then these deaths would not have happened.”

She added: “It is not to punish them. It is to save them and let them live their whole lives and to have a whole life of freedom in the face of a short-term inconvenience.”

Nicola Bell-Percy felt she had to attend after her 18-year-old son Aaron Bell died in a crash in July 2022 alongside his best friend and another passenger. The driver has since been charged with three counts of death by dangerous driving.

She said: “I am here to try and make a change and to try and stop another family from going through the torture that we go through every day.

“I am standing here in Downing Street and I feel I really should not be here. Life shouldn’t be like this.

“I’m from north Yorkshire. I’m a country girl and completely out of my comfort zone.

“None of us mums should be here today but we are determined to fight until the government makes a change.”

Last October, an inquest in Caernarfon heard that the deaths of Harvey and his friends were preventable.

GDLs are a system that gradually introduces new drivers to full driving privileges that is used in several countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.

The mothers are calling for a minimum six-month learning period for learner drivers before they are eligible for a practical test.

Restrictions for new drivers should also be imposed for the first six months after someone passes their test, or until they turn 20.

They also feel that drivers should be banned from carrying passengers aged 25 or under unless accompanied by an older adult.

Penalties for violations also need to be put under a spotlight, they say, so that breaking rules result in six penalty points, leading to immediate license suspension and the need to retake the practical test.

Ms Owen is also calling for a new measure – dubbed Harvey’s hammer in memory of her son – which would see all cars fitted with a tool that could smash open a window if a car is trapped and allow those inside to escape.

The coroner’s report on preventing future deaths, submitted to the Department of Transport (DfT), warned that without implementing restrictions, more young lives could be at risk.

The campaign is backed by the AA, which believes new drivers aged under 21 should be banned from carrying passengers of a similar age for six months after passing their test.

AA director Edmund King said: “There is widespread support for GDL with multiple organisations, groups and brave campaigners, like Crystal Owen, working tirelessly to raise awareness of the issue and call on the government to implement such a scheme in the UK.

“The very recent inquest into the tragic death of Crystal’s son, and three other young men, is a stark reminder that action needs to be taken to protect young lives, and it needs to be taken sooner rather than later.”

The AA estimated that introducing GDLs in the UK would save at least 58 lives and prevent 934 people from being seriously injured in road crashes each year.

Under the Conservative government, the DfT announced in July 2019 that it was considering introducing GDLs in England, but the assessment was halted in autumn 2020, partly because of the potential impact on young people’s employment.

A DfT spokesman 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.

“We are developing a new road safety strategy, the first in over a decade, to ensure the UK’s roads remain among the safest in the world.”