Proposed government changes "not enough" to protect young drivers, says mum of boy killed in Waltham Abbey car crash
Sonny Jasper died aged 19 as a passenger in a car crash in 2021
Naomi Crane is calling on more action to protect newly qualified drivers, saying the government are not going far enough with their new proposals.
The government are consulting on introducing a three or six month minimum learning period, which they say will give "learning drivers more time to develop their skills in varied conditions such as night driving, adverse weather, and heavy traffic."
In data they have released, they say that: "Inexperience behind the wheel is costing lives. Drivers aged 17-24 represent just 6% of licence holders but are involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions."
Naomi lost her son Sonny Jasper as a passenger in a car crash aged 19 years old. The crash happened in Waltham Abbey in 2021.
She is part of the group Forget-me-not Families Uniting, a campaign group of bereaved parents whose children were killed in crashes involving young drivers.
She says she is "horrified" by the data, and that the government's consultation is a "baby step" in the right direction.
"I just don't think it's enough of a change. I'm hoping it will save some lives, but will it save the majority? Probably not."
She has called for graduate drivers licenses, that would protect young people by placing limitations on newly qualified drivers.
"It has been tried and tested in so many different countries, and in most countries it's reduced deaths by 40%.
"The data is there, the statistics are there, but our children aren't statistics.
"You are more likely to crash your car if you've got your friends in it, it's a distraction.
"When you hand your children a car at 17, you're handing them a killing machine.
"I didn't know the numbers, and now I do, and it horrifies me. I don't want another family to live what we are now having to live."
"The evidence is there in black and white. These deaths are preventable. So why aren't we doing something?
"We do something about knife crime and we do something about county lines. These people are dying unnecessarily."