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The AA says progressive driving licences (GDL) should be introduced in Britain in a bid to improve road safety among newly qualified drivers.
Ahead of Thursday’s general election, the motoring association is calling on all political parties to tackle the number of teenage road deaths by limiting the number of even-numbered passengers in the first six months after passing the tests.
GDL’s request is not new: the AA included the policy in its recent “Automobile Manifesto” and there was also pressure from parliamentarians to introduce the measure.
The AA is calling for the introduction of graduated driving licences (GDL) in a bid to improve road safety. New Zealand is one of the countries where a similar scheme has been introduced.
The bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, would impose restrictions on young drivers for the first six months of their licence.
What does it mean to get a college driver’s license?
A GDL allows new drivers to go through learning and restriction stages, from driving in winter weather to limits on the number of passengers and driving at night, where supervision is required.
As new drivers progress through the stages, they gain more privileges until they are granted a full driver’s license after completing all requirements.
In 2013, the RAC designed a GDL with similar conditions.
There is currently a two-year probationary period where new drivers have their test revoked if they score six points.
GDLs have been endorsed for years by many security organizations, including both the AA and RAC.
A GDL licence allows new drivers to gradually gain experience and reduces the risks surrounding inexperienced drivers. The first 1000 miles that a young and inexperienced driver travels are considered crucial.
New Zealand is one of the countries where a similar scheme has been introduced.
Since the legislation was passed, there has been a 23 percent reduction in motor vehicle crash injuries among 15- to 19-year-olds, and a 12 percent reduction among 20- to 24-year-olds in the country.
AA President Edmund King OBE said: “Most people don’t realise, until it’s too late, that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged between five and 29 according to the World Health Organisation.”
AA calls for a progressive driving licence for new drivers
The AA’s April Motoring Manifesto found that almost three-quarters of drivers (72 per cent) think graduated licensing that limits the number of passengers is a good idea.
The latest version of the AA GDL would limit newly qualified drivers to having passengers of the same age for six months once they have passed their test, a policy backed by the AA Driving School and AA Trust.
An average of five people die on UK roads every day and 82 are seriously injured.
But one in five young drivers is involved in an accident within a year of passing their test and 1,500 young drivers are killed or seriously injured every year.
What is particularly worrying is that for every additional passenger of the same age, the likelihood of having an accident is four times greater.
AA President Edmund King OBE said: ‘One of the major issues that needs to be addressed is the unnecessary deaths of young drivers, their passengers and others caught up in these crashes.
‘Most people don’t realise until it’s too late that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among children and young adults aged five to 29, according to the World Health Organisation.
We owe it to the next generation to introduce positive measures that will help them live healthy and prosperous lives.”
Current legislation on postgraduate licensing attempts to
A new bill on graduate driving licenses will be passed on May 7 It was presented in Parliament by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.
In addition to the fact that the GDL is supported by numerous security organisations, the bill enjoys multi-party support in the House of Commons.
This is the latest in a series of attempts in recent years to introduce GDLs into law (most notably in 2020 by Theresa May’s government), but so far none have come to fruition despite numerous parliamentary debates.
Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater has been campaigning for road safety since shortly after being elected in July 2021.
While the current bill is largely based on the same restrictive phased learning programme as previous GDL attempts, this time it has been introduced in Parliament under the “Ten Minute Rule”.
This rule allows a rank-and-file MP to defend a new bill in a speech lasting up to ten minutes.
The bill subsequently passed its first reading and is now awaiting a second reading.
Leadbeater has been campaigning for road safety since shortly after being elected in July 2021.
She began working at GDL after meeting Dr Ian Greenwood, who lost his 12-year-old daughter Alice when the car her mother was driving was hit by an 18-year-old driver.
Both the 18-year-old and his 16-year-old passenger also died.
While various road safety policies have been proposed in various party manifestos, no party has identified GDL as legislation currently under consideration.
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