On Thursday, Rugby MP Mark Pawsey championed a change to driving laws that would make driving safer for young drivers by imposing certain restrictions people who have just passed their driving test. Mark spoke of the benefits that families and motorists could see if the country was to adopt a scheme called “Graduated Driver Licensing”. Given that 25% of the country’s young drivers have some mind of accident within the first six months of driving, this scheme looks to place a curfew on what time new drivers can be on the road, and restrictions on how many passengers a new young driver would be allowed to have in their car.
Speaking during the debate, Mark said:
“I firmly believe that an approach that decreases the risks to which young drivers expose themselves will help reduce the number of young driver incidents. I urge the Government to look again at the positive effects that a new system of licensing could have in achieving what we all wish to see: the young people of our country being safer on our roads”.
Speaking afterwards, Mark said:
“I am a father of four children, three of whom now drive. I have seen the devastating effect the death of a young person in a car crash can have on their friends and families after a friend of my son was tragically killed last year. Given this, I wanted to raise the issue of changing driving laws to keep our youngsters safe on the roads”.
Mark concluded:
“Research into Graduated Driver Licensing has indicated that it has the potential to significantly cut the number of deaths and serious injuries of the UK’s young drivers. Given this, I have asked the Government to look again at this proposal and to potentially seek to trial it here in Britain. If it saves just a handful of the four young people a day who die in road fatalities in Britain, I believe it will have been more than successful”.