Cumbrian mum vows to continue to campaign for graduated drivers licence introduction, after it's exclusion from Road Safety Strategy
It comes after it has not been included in the Government's Road Safety Strategy.
Last updated 7th Jan 2026
Sharron Huddleston's been campaigning for the law change after her daughter, Caitlin, was killed in a car crash in 2017 as a front seat passenger. The driver, Caitlin's friend Skye Mitchell, 18, also died. She had passed her test four months previously. Another teenager in the back seat survived the crash with serious injuries.
The Coroner at Caitlin's inquest ruled the crash was caused by inexperience behind the wheel and agreed with Ms Huddleston for the graduated driving scheme to be introduced to protect inexperienced drivers and prevent future deaths.
If accepted, the GDL would limit newly qualified drivers from carrying similar aged passengers in a vehicle for up to six months after passing their tests until they develop their driving skills independently.
It has not been included in the road safety strategy today. However, a new set of consultations are to be implemented that may go some way into addressing Sharon's concerns.
The Government stated: "Drivers aged 17-24 represent just 6% of licence holders but are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions. To address this, the Government will consult on introducing a 3 or 6 month minimum learning period, giving learner drivers more time to develop their skills in varied conditions such as night driving, adverse weather, and heavy traffic."
Upon hearing of this development, Sharon said: "I'm slightly disappointed that the passenger safety precaution hasn't been mentioned so far, but we do know that it will be going to consultation, so I'll be making my feelings clear that I don't feel that the strategy goes far enough.
"My campaign will carry on. I just feel that this is now opened the door of the longer learning period, and we know that other countries brought graduate driver licensing slowly over the years.
"Hopefully the UK government are going to do this.
"I do feel that the government have listened to us, the Gutcher forods minister, has known about my campaigning for years now. She said that she has listened to the victims voices, but we still need the post safety precautions put in place."
What is included?
Lowering the drink-drive limit is part of Government plans to improve road safety in England and Wales.
The road safety strategy being proposed would also require some convicted drink-drivers to have alcolocks fitted to their vehicles, and new powers to suspend driving licences for people suspected of drink or drug-driving offences.
Other planned measures to be consulted on include introducing mandatory sight tests for drivers over 70, a minimum learning period for new drivers, and a crackdown on uninsured drivers and illegal number plates.
Progress on road safety 'stalled'
Twenty-two European countries have made “more progress than the UK” in reducing road crash deaths, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.
The number of people killed on Britain’s roads has generally declined since the 1970s but the decrease has slowed from 2010.
There were 7,763 road deaths in 1972, 1,850 in 2010 and 1,602 in 2024.
The strategy – which is the first of its kind in more than a decade – aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, and by 70% for children under 16.
Drink-drive limit currently the highest in Europe
The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, which is the highest in Europe alongside Malta.
Under the strategy, this may be reduced to 22 micrograms in England and Wales, bringing those nations into line with Scotland, which cut its drink-drive limit in 2014.
The power to reduce Northern Ireland’s drink-drive limit is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Alcolocks on cars of drink-drive offenders
The DfT said some drink-drive offenders may be required to have alcolocks installed in their vehicles as a condition of being allowed to drive again.
Alcolocks are devices which prevent a vehicle from being started or driven unless the motorist passes a breath test.
They are already used in several countries – such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and the US – in return for shorter driving bans.
New strategy welcomed
AA president Edmund King described the strategy as a “radical reframing of road safety”, while RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said it “can’t come soon enough” as he particularly welcomed the long-waited reintroduction of casualty reduction targets and the possible use of alcolocks.
Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at charity IAM RoadSmart, said the measures are “robust policies to make our roads safer” following a “lost decade” in reducing deaths and serious injuries from crashes.
Karen Tyrell, chief executive of charity Drinkaware, said the proportion of drink-driving collisions which cause fatalities has nearly doubled since 2015, so it is “vital that this change is coupled with strong enforcement”.