Mother will not stop driving licence change fight

The "devastated" mother of a 17-year-old who was killed in a car crash has said she will not give up her campaign for a graduated driving licence for new young drivers.

Phoebe Johnson was a passenger in a car being driven by Melissa Keilloh, 20, that crashed on the A514 in Derbyshire on 23 October 2021.

Phoebe's mother, Nicky Johnson, wants the government to introduce restrictions on new young drivers.

The idea was not part of the government's road safety strategy launched last week with ministers saying they wanted to "strike a balance" between protecting young people and allowing them access to opportunities.

Keilloh, from Hartshorne, was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution for causing Phoebe's death.

Nicky believes crashes like the one that killed her daughter can be prevented and graduated driving licences would make a real difference.

They can be used to impose a variety of rules on new drivers and are already used in other parts of the world including Australia and parts of Canada.

Amongst suggestions from road safety campaigners are compulsory black boxes to monitor driving or restrictions on the number of young passengers in the car.

"I believe that if these youngsters were governed by the law to tell them that they couldn't carry peer passengers for a certain amount of time after they've passed their test, then they wouldn't.

"They're not going to listen to a parent advising them not to, they're just going to do it. That's what they do at that age.

"It's just relentless the number of young people who are losing their lives every week in this country. I just don't understand why they wouldn't consider this," Nicky said.

Luca Straker campaigns manager for road safety charity Brake welcomed the government's new Road Safety Strategy but said her organisation would also continue to campaign for a graduated driving licence for young people.

"These crashes are devastating but they happen time and time again and the communities get torn apart by them.

"This is one measure that we've got evidence that it works and that's why we keep pushing the government to look at this," she said.

Derbyshire South's Labour MP Samantha Niblett has raised the case of Phoebe Johnson in Parliament.

She said she understood new rules might mean less freedom for young people but road safety should be guided by data.

"It would only be for a period of time and I think if you were the friend or a parent or brother or sister of somebody who's passed away for the sake of having a little bit longer to drive that would be really important," Niblett said.

The government is consulting on plans to make new drivers wait at least six months between taking their driving theory and practical tests.

Junior Transport Minister and Nottingham South MP Lillian Greenwood said: "Late at night it is good advice to young people to not be having your friends in the car.

"But equally a lot of young people rely on being able to pass their driving test so they can go out to sports clubs, get to college, and we want to strike the right balance."

Nicky said she would continue the campaign for graduated licences as she did not want other families to suffer the way she has.

She said: "We need to stop this happening so often. It's just devastating. It's something that you never get over.

"I think of all the things that Phoebe's missing now. She should be here."

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