A mother who lost her teenage son in a road accident has condemned ministers for rejecting proposals to impose additional limits on novice motorists.
Crystal Owen has been advocating for Graduated Driving Licences since her 17-year-old son Harvey died with three friends when their vehicle crashed in North Wales in 2023.
Labour has declined to pursue such restrictions, with Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones confirming no current plans exist for these measures.
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Officials expressed worries that Graduated Driving Licences could "unfairly discriminate" against young people with parenting or caring responsibilities.
A road safety campaigner has slammed Labour for rejecting calls to introduce a Graduated Driving Licence scheme
|PA/GETTY
Ms Owen, who resides in Shrewsbury, called the Government's position "disgraceful" and questioned: "What more does it take? How many more young people have to die on our roads?"
Department for Transport figures reveal that young motorists are implicated in 25 per cent of all road deaths.
Road safety organisation Brake has highlighted that novice drivers face increased crash risks when transporting passengers of similar age and demonstrate a greater propensity for dangerous behaviour while driving.
The AA has praised other proposed driving law reforms announced on Monday, including possible licence revocations for elderly motorists who do not pass mandatory vision assessments.
READ MORE: Driving law changes to crack down on elderly motorists and drink-drivers are 'much overdue'
Crystal Owen, whose son Harvey Owen, 17, was one of four teenagers killed in a crash last year, said law changes need to be introduced | PAHowever, the motoring association criticised the absence of tougher regulations for new drivers as a "major oversight".
Graduated licensing systems would impose temporary restrictions on newly qualified motorists in a bid to boost road safety.
Some of the most common and popular measures include banning drivers who have recently passed their practical tests from carrying same-age passengers for a certain period of time.
Other proposals used in Graduated Driving Licence schemes around the world include a curfew for motorists and a zero-tolerance approach to drink-driving.
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Bereaved parents Joanna Alkir, Crystal Owen, Alison Greenhouse, Nicola Bell, Bridget Lucas and Naomi Crane delivered a petition to Downing Street in April
| PASpeaking to the BBC, Ms Owen expressed profound disappointment with ministers' refusal to act on the road safety issue.
She accused them of "ignoring all the advice given to them" and failing to safeguard novice motorists and fellow road users.
The 40-year-old mother argued that graduated licensing would enable young motorists to gain "valuable experience on all road conditions" while developing their skills progressively.
This system would "build up their confidence before they've got the added pressure of distractions," she explained.
Ms Owen characterised the temporary restrictions as merely "a small inconvenience for a short amount of time" that could prevent immense suffering, describing the decision as "just a no-brainer really".
The mother started her campaign just six weeks after the death of her son, Harvey, adding that she felt "really disheartened" by the lack of progress.
She added: "Harvey and many, many others, their lives are frozen in time - Harvey will be forever 17 and the families that are left behind, our lives are absolutely destroyed."
A Department for Transport spokesperson told GB News: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
"Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are considering other measures to tackle this problem and protect young drivers."