Bereaved mother calls for law change for newly qualified drivers after her daughter was killed in a crash
After the AA’s data revealed thousands of new drivers die each year after passing their test, they're suggesting a 'graduated driving licence' for those who've freshly passed.
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00:00 In 2017, my daughter was killed as a passenger in a newly qualified driver's car.
00:09 15 minutes into the journey, the newly qualified driver lost control on a bend in the road.
00:15 The car spun onto the opposite carriageway and it spun into a van that was travelling in the opposite direction.
00:23 And Caitlin took the full impact of the collision into the front passenger door and was killed on impact.
00:31 And the newly qualified driver was killed too.
00:36 And the friend that was travelling in the back of the car, she was seriously injured.
00:41 And the van driver was too.
00:43 The crash was put down to inexperience.
00:46 Since losing Caitlin, Sharon found out through the Road Safety Charity Break about graduated driving licences.
00:53 The restrictions on newly qualified drivers are already in place in every US state and Australia, along with Canada and New Zealand.
01:01 In fact, the introduction of a GDL regime in New Zealand led to a 23% reduction in car crash injuries for 15 to 19 year olds.
01:09 Young newly qualified drivers don't carry their peerage friends as passengers for a limited time
01:16 until they've gained more experience driving solo or with an older experienced driver with them.
01:22 And it was heartbreaking to read that, that if that law had been in the UK, in our country, Caitlin could be alive today, or she would be alive today.
01:35 Now with the AA on board, it's a step closer for Sharon's tireless campaign, but with still a way to go.
01:41 I would suggest to parents that until this law is implemented in our country,
01:46 that they would maybe suggest to their teenagers when they've just passed the test, maybe to not carry their friends as passengers for a limited time, for the minimum of six months.
01:56 And so these safety precautions would keep them safe on our roads.