New drivers ‘could be banned at night’

Backlash at latest discussions about graduated licences

YOUNG and newly qualified drivers could be banned from the roads at night after the Department for Transport (DfT) opened an investigation into graduated driving licences (GDLs) as part of a widereaching two-year review of road safety.

As well as a night-time curfew, novice drivers could also face restrictions over the age and number of passengers they can carry, and may have to complete a minimum learning period before being able to take their practical driving test. GDL schemes can also place restrictions on how powerful the car of a new driver can be.

Ministers have previously shied away from GDLs, partly because of concerns that they could limit the ability of new drivers to carry out shift work. But concerns over accident rates – which fell steadily up to 2012 but have since plateaued – have caused the topic to be revisited.

A quarter of drivers aged 18 to 24 have an accident within two years of passing their test. Meanwhile motorists aged between 17 and 19 make up almost one in 10 accident victims, despite accounting for just 1.5 per cent of the UK’s licence-holders.

The DfT’s official investigation follows a letter last year from then-Roads Minister Jesse Norman, in which he said that a new graduated licence scheme in Northern Ireland would be used as a pilot for their wider introduction. The DfT has also cited successful GDL schemes in New Zealand, Sweden and parts of Australia.

Newly qualified drivers in the UK already lose their licence if they accrue six penalty points in the first two years after passing their test, while power-to-weight restrictions are applied to motorcyclists based on their age and riding experience.

Reaction to the DfT’s investigation has been mixed. James Dalton from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said the potential for a GDL scheme to dramatically improve road safety was “indisputable”, and called on ministers to determine how to introduce such a scheme “without delay”.

Others were more circumspect, however. Neil Greig from IAM RoadSmart (formerly the Institute of Advanced Motorists) welcomed the idea of a minimum learning period of 12 months before drivers could take their practical tests, but added that “restricting the opportunity to learn how to drive safely at night seems counterintuitive”.

At the other end of the spectrum, some voices were unequivocal in their criticism. Ian McIntosh, CEO of RED Driving School, said a GDL scheme may “impact social mobility, employment prospects and hamper local economies”. He highlighted the fact that traffic fatality rates in Australia and New Zealand are “at least four times higher” than those in the UK.

“Motorists aged between 17 and 19 account for almost 10 per cent of accident victims“