Call to update rules for 21st Century roads

Jo Shiner wants to see graduated driving licences introduced

The Chief Constable for Sussex says officers are "policing 21st Century roads with 20th Century legislation" as she called for tighter restrictions on newly-qualified drivers.

Jo Shiner claimed there was now "the most powerful evidence" that graduated driving licences would reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on roads.

Proposals from the RAC Foundation would include drivers under 20 being banned from having passengers under 25 in the car for six months after passing their tests.

Mrs Shiner, whose father was killed in a road collision when she was a teenager, is the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for roads policing.

According to the RAC Foundation, drivers aged 17-24 are involved in a fifth of all road collisions resulting in deaths and serious injuries, despite only accounting for 7% of all licence holders.

Their analysis found 44 lives could have been saved between 2004 and 2022 if the proposed rules for 17 to 19-year-old drivers had been strictly observed.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, Mrs Shiner said: "I really do hope the politicians will listen.

"I think it’s just really common sense because at the moment I do think we’re policing 21st Century roads with 20th Century legislation."

She said not only vehicles, but also drivers and how "vehicles act when we are behind the wheel" had changed and it was time to "look at a lot of the traffic legislation."

Road safety 'absolute priority' for government

Last month, as Jo Shiner was reappointed as chief constable of Sussex Police for the next three years, she said tackling drug driving was her top priority.

Her comments come just weeks after Sussex Police left the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.

Mrs Shiner said: "We think that if we can create more bespoke and individual partnerships with other agencies then we can probably target some of those challenges more effectively and with more impact at localised levels."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said the safety of roads was "an absolute priority" for the government.

They added: "We are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. We will set out next steps on this in due course."