'My son would still be alive if young driver laws were stricter'

The mother of a teenager killed in a crash says she believes her son would still be alive had there been stricter laws for newly qualified drivers.

Nicola Bell-Percy was one of several grieving parents who hand-delivered a 100,000-signature petition to Downing Street, calling for graduated driving licences (GDLs).

Ms Bell-Percy's son Aaron was one of three passengers who died when the 18-year-old driver of the car hit a tree on the B6268 in North Yorkshire in July 2022.

She now hopes law changes could prevent other families "going through the unimaginable trauma that I go through every day".

Aaron Bell, 18, Louis Banks, 17, and Tommy Shevels, 18, all died at the scene of the collision on the B6268 Masham Road in Bedale.

Joshua Chapman, of Mosquito Grove, Bedale, later admitted causing their deaths and was jailed for nine years and four months at Teesside Crown Court in March 2024.

Ms Bell-Percy, from Masham, has since joined a group of campaigning mothers whose children, aged between 17 and 20, all died in car crashes in recent years.

They are calling on the government to consider introducing a GDL, which gradually introduce new drivers to full driving privileges.

The system is already used in several countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.

The mothers are calling for a minimum six-month learning period for learner drivers before they are eligible for a practical test.

Restrictions for new drivers should also be imposed for the first six months after someone passes their test, or until they turn 20, they say.

They also feel that drivers should be banned from carrying passengers aged 25 or under unless accompanied by an older adult.

Penalties for violations also need to be put under a spotlight, they say, so that breaking rules result in six penalty points, leading to immediate licence suspension and the need to retake the practical test.

The campaign is backed by the AA, which believes new drivers aged under 21 should be banned from carrying passengers of a similar age for six months after passing their test.

Speaking in Downing Street, Ms Bell-Percy told the BBC: "I'm here today because my son deserved more.

"I fully believe that if there had been a graduated driving licence in place, I wouldn't be here and my son would be by my side."

She added: "I know that these crashes can be prevented, so I am determined to try and make that happen."

The AA estimated that introducing GDLs in the UK would save at least 58 lives and prevent 934 people from being seriously injured in road crashes each year.

Under the Conservative government, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced in July 2019 that it was considering introducing GDLs in England, but the assessment was halted in autumn 2020, partly because of the potential impact on young people's employment.

A DfT spokesman said: "Whilst we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads.

"We are developing a new road safety strategy, the first in over a decade, to ensure the UK's roads remain among the safest in the world."

Additional reporting by PA Media

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