New young drivers should not have under-21s as passengers, says AA

If it was brought in across the UK, it would mean young drivers marking their vehicles with G plates – with a failure to display them punishable with three points on their licence.

GDL already exists in Northern Ireland, and the Department for Transport (DfT) has said it is not currently considering it elsewhere in the UK.

The department’s figures show 290 people were killed and 4,669 were seriously injured in crashes on Britain’s roads last year involving at least one driver aged 17-24.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5Live, Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of road policy, said what was noticable across countries with the policy in place was “a reduction of death and serious injuries to younger drivers and their passengers” by 20% to 40%.

Mr Cousens said that while the government was bringing forward a road safety strategy, at the moment it was “not convinced” of the need for GDL.

“We feel that something has to be done, so we’re going to keep banging this drum,” he said. “Hopefully the government will change tact and see that, actually, we need to make some changes for younger drivers.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “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.”