Mother of Shrewsbury teen killed in north Wales crash 'frustrated' after Westminster debate on young driver safety
The mother of one of four Shrewsbury teenagers killed in a crash in north Wales has shared her frustration after the Government confirmed it will not consider introducing graduated driving licences for young drivers.
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On Tuesday (January 28), the story of a crash that killed four Shropshire teenagers was one of many heartbreaking accounts heard in Westminster as MPs debated safety for young drivers.
The debate had been secured by Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley after more than a year of campaigning from Crystal Owen - the mother of one of the four young men killed in the tragic crash in November 2023.
Crystal launched a petition on Change.org calling for stricter driver licensing laws in the weeks following the deaths of her son Harvey, 17, and his friends Hugo Morris, 18, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Jevon Hirst, 16.
She, along with other bereaved families, have been calling on the Government to implement graduated driving licences (GDL), a system that gradually introduces new drivers to full driving privileges.
During Tuesday’s debate, Minister for the Future of Roads Lilian Greenwood recognised that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic collisions on the roads, but said the UK Government is not considering graduated licences.
She said the Government is instead exploring options to “tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers”.
