Grieving mum slams government road safety decision

A bereaved mother has said the government would have "blood on their hands" following a decision not to limit passenger numbers for new young drivers.

Bridget Lucas, from Cricklade in Wiltshire, has campaigned for tighter rules for young drivers after her son Lawrence Bruce, 20, was killed in a crash in 2022.

Ms Lucas said a proposal to ban new drivers under the age of 21 from carrying passengers of a similar age for the first six months would be a "simple and effective first step" towards improving road safety.

However, the Department for Transport said it was not considering restricting passengers because the move would "penalise" responsible young drivers.

Lawrence Bruce died when the car he was in veered into the path of a coach

Proposals for the first Road Safety Strategy in more than a decade were published in August and included a number of changes to the law including potential driving bans for the over-70s who fail compulsory eye tests.

President of the AA Edmund King said: "A road safety strategy is long overdue."

He added: "There is a glaring omission in the policies outlined and that is the urgent safety of new drivers and passengers."

Countries such as Australia, Canada and France have introduced measures to help protect young drivers which Mr King said had resulted in a 20% to 40% reduction in deaths and serious injuries.

Mr King said he believed that if the UK adopted similar measures "at least 58 deaths and 934 serious injuries could be prevented each year".

'Epidemic of death'

Lawrence Bruce was a passenger in a car that veered into an oncoming coach and he died at the scene alongside fellow passenger Joseph Sharpe and the car's driver Callum Leighton, who were both 18.

An inquest concluded the crash was caused by fatigue.

Ms Lucas said she believed her son's death could have been avoided with tighter rules on under-21s carrying passengers.

"The government will have blood on their hands if they continue to ignore this epidemic of death," she said.

"A simple and effective first step would be to stop young drivers carrying peer-aged passengers for the first six months after they pass their test."

Bridget Lucas lost her son in a car crash

Ms Lucas has campaigned for driving restrictions alongside other bereaved families since her son was killed.

She said she believed the upcoming Road Safety Strategy would have been an "ideal time" for changes to be made.

"I feel so sad for the inevitable families that will be going through what we have gone through, continue to go through," she said.

"These deaths are preventable in many circumstances."

The Secretary of State for Transport reacted to Ms Lucas's story on BBC Politics West

Speaking on BBC Politics West, the Secretary of State for Transport and Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander recognised that young people were disproportionately killed on the UK's roads.

Ms Alexander said: "We are considering options for how we better protect young drivers."

She said a graduated driving licence which would restrict the number of passengers a young person could take in the car would not be part of the Road Safety Strategy which would be published before the end of the year.

Ms Alexander said her "heart goes out to Bridget on the loss of Lawrence" but that young responsible drivers should not be "penalised".