Parents 'haunted' by crash urge licence rethink

The parents of a teenage boy who say they are "haunted" by his death in a car crash are calling on the government to reconsider graduated driving licences.

Simon Evans, from Wolverhampton, was a passenger in a car driven by a newly qualified driver when it crashed near Shifnal, Shropshire, in March. Another passenger was killed along with the driver.

Calling again for a system that would prohibit new drivers from giving rides to passengers under 25, Simon's mother Sue Evans said she did not want her son to become "a nameless statistic".

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said while the government was "not considering graduated driving licences", other measures were under review.

Simon was 18 when he died.

The 17-year-old driver of the car, Jenson Bridges, from Brewood, Staffordshire, had passed his test the day before the crash on Offoxey Road. His Audi A1 spun off the route and hit a tree.

Jacob Holman from Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, was also killed. A third teenager, also a passenger, suffered life-changing injuries.

At an inquest earlier this year, the coroner concluded that the crash had been "caused by the naive actions of a young, inexperienced, newly-qualified driver".

Mrs Evans said: "It was so horrific that the side of the car had been ripped off and Simon was thrown face down into the road where he died instantly.

"He had so many traumatic injuries and the thought of him being on his own in the dark, dying - it just haunts me so much."

Dave and Sue believe more restrictions on young drivers would have saved their son's life

"He was a gentle giant," Mrs Evans added of her son.

"Whenever he went into a room and smiled, he just lit the place up."

Simon "loved life", his father Dave Evans said, recalling that his son "loved being outside and always wore shorts, no matter what the weather was".

"He was just a lovely young man who lived life to the full."

The most recent figures show that about a quarter of fatalities in car crashes feature incidents in which at least one young car driver was involved.

Later this year, the government is expected to publish its Road Safety Strategy, although graduated licences are not set to be included.

Mr and Mrs Evans are calling for the government to reconsider and want to see newly-qualified drivers prevented from carrying passengers of a similar age.

"To have passengers in the car with [new drivers] - we can avoid that by bringing this area of legislation in," Mr Evans said.

"We do not want Simon to be a nameless statistic," Mrs Evans added.

"He deserved so much more - he should be here, working, going to college, but it was all taken away because the government did not push forward to do something to save young drivers, to keep [young people] safe."

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said "every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with Simon's family".

"[While] we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.

"We are considering other measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety."