‘Enough is enough’: Bereaved parents demand government action on young driver deaths from crashes

A group of 40 bereaved parents are demanding immediate action to tackle the “unacceptable and disproportionately high” number of young driver and passenger deaths on UK roads.

The parents, whose children were all killed by cars driven by young drivers, have formed a campaign group called ‘Forget-me-not Families Uniting’ – and they are calling on the government to save young lives.

Among the group are two sets of parents from Northamptonshire. The first are Chris and Nicole Taylor, who are also two of the four founders after years of campaigning for change.

Their 18-year-old daughter Rebecca was killed in 2008 after dropping her sister off at school. She lost control of her car after hitting a large pool of standing water, which was caused by a drain blocked with detritus.

The second are Peter and Ondine Campbell, whose 19-year-old daughter Ferne was killed as a passenger in 2016. Her friend, who had passed her driving test six weeks earlier, lost control of the car.

The campaign group says that for decades the government has been presented with the evidence on how to reduce the “huge risks” facing young and novice drivers aged between 17 and 24 and their passengers, but have “failed to act”.

According to the Department for Transport, 4,935 people were killed or seriously injured in 2022 in crashes involving at least one young driver across Great Britain – which includes other road users of all ages, such as people travelling in separate cars or pedestrians.

Several countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many US states, have successfully introduced ‘Graduated Driving Licensing’. This restricts the number of similar aged passengers a young driver can carry in their car, and night time driving.

Forget-me-not Families Uniting is calling for the introduction of this scheme to reduce road deaths and serious injuries, and an expert panel to advise the government on how Graduated Driving Licensing should look in the UK.

One of the campaign group founders, Sharon Huddleston, said: “Enough is enough. How many more young people need to die before action is taken?

“We can’t sit back any longer and just watch as more and more young people are killed or seriously injured in road collisions.

“Our message to the government is simple – listen to us, listen to the experts and learn from other countries, who have seen a huge reduction in young driver and passenger deaths after introducing Graduated Driving Licensing for young novice drivers.”

Forget-me-not Families Uniting has the backing of national charity for road crash victims Roadpeace, road safety charity Brake, and The Road Victims’ Trust.

The charities are “proud to come together to back these families and this growing movement”. They believe they “deserve to be heard” and hope to see action taken by those in power.

Other families are welcomed to join to help stop unnecessary deaths and serious injuries – which the campaign group believes other countries have been successful in and have set an example for the UK.