A senior police and crime commissioner has launched a major push for a radical overhaul of driving rules for newly-qualified motorists, demanding the introduction of a late-night curfew and a stricter drink-drive limit.
Urgent Call for Progressive Driving Licences
Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), is urgently calling on the Government to adopt a package of new safeguards aimed at inexperienced drivers. His proposals, which he wants included in the forthcoming national Road Safety Strategy, are modelled on Progressive Driving Licences already used in countries like Canada, Australia, and the United States.
Mr Foster's intervention follows the death of a man in a crash on Birmingham's Soho Road earlier this week. He argues that temporary restrictions for new drivers in the months before and after passing their test are a "proven, proportionate and urgently needed solution" to a persistent crisis.
Stark Statistics Behind the Push
In a letter to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, the PCC highlighted alarming data showing young drivers are disproportionately involved in serious collisions. Drivers aged 17 to 24 account for nearly a quarter of all car drivers killed or seriously injured on UK roads, despite representing only seven per cent of licence holders.
Furthermore, incidents involving young drivers result in 20 per cent of all road casualties. Mr Foster cited international evidence showing dramatic safety improvements from graduated licence schemes, including an 83 per cent reduction in deaths among 16–19-year-old drivers in Canada.
A Comprehensive Safety Package
The proposed Progressive Driving Licence would not be limited to a night-time driving restriction and a lower legal alcohol limit for new drivers. Mr Foster's wider package of measures also includes:
- Minimum learning periods before taking a test.
- The mandatory use of in-car technology to monitor and incentivise safe, legal driving.
The Commissioner emphasised that concerns about restricting young people's mobility for education, employment, training, or caring responsibilities could be fully addressed through specific exemptions within the new system.
"Every day we delay, young lives are being put at risk," said Mr Foster, who has made road safety a top priority since his election in May 2021. "Continued inaction to prevent these collisions and casualties is unacceptable." He labelled any failure to act as "a gross dereliction of the first duty of government to keep its people safe."
Next Steps and Political Pressure
Mr Foster is now mobilising local MPs to champion the cause. He has called on them to:
- Pressure the Department for Transport to include Progressive Driving Licences in the upcoming Road Safety Strategy.
- Build an evidence-based case for the reform alongside charities, emergency services, academics, and bereaved families.
- Raise the issue in Parliament to secure the policy and funding needed for a nationwide rollout.
The ball is now in the Government's court to decide if these evidence-based, international-style restrictions will form part of Britain's future road safety landscape.
