Concern for young carers if driving laws introduced

Concerns about what would happen to young parents and carers if new laws are introduced for young drivers have been raised.

Students at Shrewsbury College who spoke to the BBC mostly agreed with the government's changes, but some raised concerns.

As part of the government's planned new road safety strategy, learner drivers in England and Wales could face a minimum period of up to six months between sitting their theory and practical tests.

Some parents and road campaigners have urged the government to go further, and do more to protect newly-qualified drivers.

Raven said there were a lot of qualified drivers who did not obey the rules of the road.

But she felt holding back learner drivers could be a problem for people like her.

She said: "I like to take my brother out places and I'm also a carer, so that would heavily impact on my ability to help my family and friends."

Charlie said if exemptions were introduced to take this into account, then the policy could end up with "too many loopholes".

When asked what else could be done to improve road safety, a number of students said they wanted to see potholes removed and street lighting improved.

Lily said the potholes she had encountered while taking driving lessons were "quite ridiculous".

She also said something needed to be done to improve the behaviour of new drivers.

"We have a lot of people passing their test and then they think they can do whatever they want," she said.

Some "go over the speed limit and don't really care and that's how accidents happen," she added.

James said it might help if convicted motorists received longer driving bans and that his parents already imposed a limit on the number of passengers he could take, for safety reasons.

Karen Burgoyne, who runs a driving school in Shropshire, said in her experience students learnt at different rates and some were ready for the road sooner than others.

She also said since Covid she had seen a decline in driving standards and that other motorists appeared to have "no patience for learners".

Burgoyne said she wanted to see children taught about the dangers of driving as young as Year Nine.

The shake-up of driving laws is aimed at reducing the number of people killed or badly injured on Britain's roads by 65% over the next decade, and by 70% for children under 16.

The proposals also include a lower drink-driving limit in England and Wales, to bring them in line with Scotland, along with other measures.

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