Should newly qualified u-25 drivers be banned from taking passengers?

Just as the news of changes to booking a driving test come into force, it looks like the driving licence itself could be overhauled. Come May, the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) will be discussing whether newly qualified drivers should be restricted from carrying younger passengers, among a raft of other restrictions.

Working from a plan published back in 2019 called the Road Safety Statement, the measurements are being considered as part of a wider initiative to reduce accidents and fatalities on UK roads.

“Changes in behaviour are most effective when they are progressive; we need to be receptive to new ideas, reflect, plan, act and maintain the behaviour in order to make real change," said the DfT. "This 'lifelong learning' approach at all stages of our lives is a foundation for this Road Safety Statement and provides the building blocks for future change in making our roads safer.”

It could mean formatting the current driving licence structure away from ‘provisional’ and ‘full’, and towards graduated driving licensing, where restrictions within a learning period enable drivers to gain greater confidence and skill to earn freedom and autonomy gradually.

The plan especially targets under 25-year-olds. The DfT’s 2017 stats show 17-24 year-olds accounted for more casualties than any other age group, and specifically more car occupant casualties.

The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 already restricts those who have only just qualified to getting only six points before disqualification, rather than the usual 12. Greater measures, including “controls as to the time of day the restricted licence holder can drive unsupervised or restrictions on the passengers they can carry and come in addition to any tougher penalties new drivers incur for traffic violations”, are the kinds of suggestions being floated.

Though new drivers may only have to wait between six months and a year before being allowed to carry passengers, the proposals have been previously kicked down the road, due to concerns around impinging on young workers, but now they're getting attention.

What do you think - should new drivers prove themselves before being allowed to have their mates in the car too?