No full driving licence till 19 in bid to cut fatalities
THE driving age could be raised to 18 in an attempt to slash the death toll on our roads. And young people could be forced to wait until they are 19 before they qualify for a full l i cence under radical plans being considered by ministers.
Currently, they can be driving independently at 17.
The plans could also see all motorists aged under 30 banned from giving their friends a lift or driving at night for 12 months after they pass their test.
The proposals, prepared for the Department for Transport, would also see new motorists face a lower drink-drive limit for a year, regardless of their age.
Road safety campaigners have long called for reforms to tackle the carnage caused by young motorists. Yesterday’s report by the Transport Research Laboratory calls for the introduction of so-
‘Committed to improving safety’
called Graduated Driver Licensing. A driver would have to pass a series of landmarks after their formal test before they were considered to be competent to drive without restrictions.
The report suggests the system, already used in Canada and parts of the US, could cut the number killed and injured on Britain’s roads by more than 4,470 a year.
The study found almost a quarter of the road accidents resulting in death or serious injury last year involved a driver under 24. That age group is roughly four times more likely to be involved in a serious accident than older motorists.
The report says: ‘The younger a driver i s when t hey become licensed, the more likely they are to become involved in a collision. The post-licence driving period, when on-road experience is lacking, is the riskiest time.’
The proposals will be considered by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and could be included in a formal consultation to be published before Christmas.
A source close to Mr McLoughlin said he was ‘open-minded’ about the issue.
Under the proposals, young people would still be allowed to learn to drive when they turn 17. But they would have to be 18 before they could take their test and would also have to log 120 hours of supervised practice, including 20 hours at night.
After passing their test, the novice motorist would then remain ‘on probation’ for 12 months and be required to carry a green ‘P’ plate on their car. During this time they would be banned from carrying passengers aged under 30 or from driving between the hours of 10pm and 5am unless they are accompanied by an adult aged over 30.
All new drivers, including older motorists, would also face restrictions on night driving, a lower drink-drive limit and a ban on using a hands-free mobile phone for 12 months after passing their test.
Dr Shaun Helman, one of the report’s authors, said: ‘The reasoning behind this is that the evidence shows that both youth and inexperience are factors in determining crash risk.’
Dr Helman said there was ‘compelling’ evidence similar restrictions had cut road deaths in countries around the world, including the US, Australia and New Zealand.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Young drivers drive around 5 per cent of all the miles driven in Britain, but are involved in about 20 per cent of the crashes where someone is killed or seriously injured.
‘We are committed to improving safety for young drivers and reduc- ing their insurance costs, that is why we are publishing a Green Paper later in the year setting out our proposals.’
But AA president Edmund King said: ‘At the extreme end, this report could be seen as just recommending taking novice drivers off the road by regulation and restriction, rather than helping them develop the right attitudes and skills to provide them with the mobility they need.
‘Rather than compensating the proposed significant new restrictions through earlier access to the roads under supervision, the authors propose delaying and extending the driving development process to the point where even some 30-year-olds will be restricted i n whom t hey can carry as passengers.’