More potential restrictions for new drivers.

More potential restrictions for new drivers.

New changes to the driving license rules could see some new drivers receive a graduate driving license instead of a full driver’s license for the first year.

West Yorkshire's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe is proposing the concept of Graduate Driving Licences. Proposals include possibly disallowing drivers with these licences from carrying passengers around their own age during the first year after they pass their test. Another potential restriction of the proposed changes could be a night-time driving restriction, stopping drivers from being behind the wheel  between the hours of 11pm and 5am.

Countries like Canada, New Zealand and North Ireland have already set this rule in place, the Labour government may soon follow suit and implement this in the UK after receiving public pressure.

In 2023, 4,959 deaths or serious injuries were recorded due to accidents involving young drivers, car crashes involving young drivers accounted for a quarter of fatalities. Annually 1,417 young drivers in the UK suffer from serious or fatal injuries.

A coalition of families who lost their loved ones from accidents on the road say, "The ongoing impact and devastation of the death of a loved one in these circumstances cannot adequately be put into words."

And they went on to say, "We want to do everything in our power to prevent it from happening to anyone else. Graduated Driving Licences offer one such opportunity, backing their introduction is an easy decision."

In response to this, a spokesperson from Department for Transport (DfT) put out a statement, "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.

"Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads. We are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers."

So, although people want restrictions for new drivers, the statement from the DfT spokesperson has put down any hopes for restrictions in the coming future.

What do you think? Do you believe new drivers should have extra restrictions or are there already enough restrictions put onto the drivers of the future?

Let us know on our Instagram @thecarco1.