Certain drivers could face major motor restrictions and lose freedoms under a major new driving rule proposal. The RAC Foundation has outlined a plan to limit newly qualified young motorists’ licences in a bid to boost road safety.
The graduated licensing system would ban 17 to 19-year-olds from carrying passengers under 25 unless accompanied by an older adult.
All under 20s could be affected by the proposal meaning those born after 2004 could be impacted.
The policy would apply to both friends and family members and could prevent younger drivers from being distracted behind the wheel.
The rule would apply for the first six months after passing the practical test or until they reach their 20th birthday.
Road users found to be breaking the law would be slapped with six penalty points on their driving licence, enough for newly-qualified road users to be immediately banned.
The rule would mean youngsters would be forced to retake a test in order to retain their licence.
According to the RAC Foundation, road casualty data shows young drivers are most at risk when carrying passengers.
They feel that “implementing a restriction on carrying passengers” would address this risk factor and prevent a number of accidents.
However, the small restrictions are not as extreme as previous proposals which called for nighttime bans on younger individuals.
This would have prevented many from using their vehicle if they were working complicated shift patterns.
As part of the landmark rule, the RAC Foundation also called for the introduction of a mandatory six-month learning period before road users are eligible to take a driving test.
It would prevent individuals from cramming in their learning and passing a driving test after just a few days of road experience.
Experts putting together the proposal claim the idea could have saved “well up to 44 lives”.
The RAC Foundation added: “The measures place limited restrictions on a small proportion of new drivers, less than 1.5 per cent of the driving population as a whole – whilst still giving individuals access to personal mobility (i.e. 17-19 year-olds can drive unrestricted on their own posttest).”
“44 lives saved would account for 2.6 per cent of all road fatalities in 2022.”