The AA has renewed calls for Graduated Driver Licensing.

It comes as the new government prepares its key Budget and funding for it’s different departments.

Priorities are the game’s name, and for the AA, saving lives on the road is a key focus missing from the previous incumbents.

Safety on a plate

New drivers under 21 in the UK should be banned from carrying passengers of a similar age for six months after passing their test, says the AA.

It estimates that introducing a graduated driving licence (GDL) would save at least 58 lives and prevent 934 people being seriously injured in road crashes each year.

They would also like to see novice licensed drivers replacing their ‘L’ plate with a ‘G’  version.

Alongside this, they should be more heavily policed for misdemeanours such as not wearing a seatbelt – ie 6 licence points, meaning they lose their licence.

Friends for life

The AA’s investigations into GDL found the passenger restrictions were the most popular element of the scheme.

Polls found 33% of survey respondents saying they would implement it first above any other measures.

G-plates followed on with 24%, a logbook 18% and the heavier penalties for not wearing a seatbelt garnered 8%.

But younger drivers themselves said they were more likely to choose the tougher seatbelt penalties (20%).

More than a third (36%) of 17-29-year-old drivers who died in a car crash last year were not wearing their seatbelt.

Popular thinking

Edmund King, the director of The AA Charitable Trust, added: “Support for GDL is high among drivers and their top priority would be to introduce passenger restrictions.

“Parents tell us that this would help them to restrict their teenagers from taking passengers or being passengers with an inexperienced driver.

“The introduction of passenger restrictions would help mitigate the increased risk young drivers have to manage when they have peer-aged passengers travelling with them. A six-month restriction is a small price to pay for saving young lives.

“There is a great swell of support for the introduction of GDL so this Government has a real opportunity to make it happen and save lives.”

Experience counts

Graduated driving licensing is already used in several countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.

It has been called for in the UK by road safety and motoring organisations for many years, particularly over the last year.

Department for Transport (DfT) figures show 290 people were killed and 4,669 seriously injured in crashes on Britain’s roads last year in incidents involving at least one driver between 17 and 24 years old.

Independent research by the Transport Research Lab into GDL in recent years has clearly shown it to be a benefit in reducing post test crashes in the first year after passing the test – the most dagerous period of time for new drivers.

Time to change

The AA’s chief executive, Jakob Pfaudler, said: “Not only is this a tragic waste of life, but it contributes to the burden of high insurance premiums for young drivers. These premiums should fall when there is evidence of a reduction of young drivers and passengers killed and seriously injured.

“Graduated driver licensing has been proven in other countries to significantly reduce road deaths and serious injuries. We are calling on the transport secretary to make simple, pragmatic changes to the licensing process so young people are better protected in their first few months of independent driving.”

Under the Conservative government, the DfT announced in July 2019 it was considering introducing GDL in England.

However, the assessment was halted in autumn 2020, partly because of the potential impact on young people’s employment.

New era

A DfT spokesperson said: “Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are considering other measures to tackle this problem and protect young drivers. That’s why we are committed to delivering a new road safety strategy – the first in over a decade – and will set out next steps on this in due course.”