By james art The AA said it also wants those drivers to be given six penalty points for not wearing a seatbelt during the same period, which would mean they lose their licence.
To help police enforcement, young drivers’ cars should be fitted with a ‘G’ plate to emphasize that they are a ‘qualified’ driver, the AA has suggested.
These measures would take the form of a graduated driver’s license (GDL), which is used in several countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and Sweden.
The AA has estimated that introducing GDL in the UK would save at least 58 lives and prevent 934 people from being seriously injured in road crashes each year.
Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show that 290 people died and 4,669 were seriously injured in crashes on Britain’s roads last year involving at least one driver aged 17-24.
AA chief executive Jakob Pfaudler said: “Not only is this a tragic loss of life, but it adds to the burden of high insurance premiums for young drivers.
“These premiums should come down when there is evidence of a reduction in young drivers and passengers killed and seriously injured.
“In other countries, graduated driving licenses have been shown to significantly reduce road deaths and serious injuries.
“We are calling on the Transport Secretary to make simple, pragmatic changes to the licensing process so that young people are better protected in their first few months of self-driving.”
Under the Conservative government, the DfT announced in July 2019 that it was considering the introduction of GDL in England, but the assessment was suspended in autumn 2020, partly because of the potential impact on youth employment.
The most popular element of AA’s proposal, according to an online survey of 10,566 of its members, was travel restrictions, with 33% of respondents saying they would support them.
Edmund King, director of the AA Charitable Trust, said: “Introducing passenger limits will help to mitigate the increased risk young drivers have to take when carrying passengers of their own age.
“A six-month limit is a small price to pay to save young lives.
“There is a great outpouring of support for the introduction of GDL, so this Government has a real opportunity to do it and save lives.
“The very recent inquest into the tragic deaths of four young men is a stark reminder that action must be taken to protect young lives, and it must be taken sooner rather than later.”
Last week, Senior Coroner for North West Wales Kate Robertson raised concerns about young, newly qualified drivers carrying passengers following an inquest into the deaths of four teenagers who drowned when their car rolled into a ditch last November.
A DfT spokesman said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of anyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
“While we are not considering graduated driving licences, we absolutely recognize that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic accidents on our roads and are considering other measures to tackle this problem and protect young drivers.
“That’s why we are committed to delivering a new road safety strategy – the first for more than a decade – and will set out the next steps for this in due course.”