A mother whose daughter was killed in a car crash has said tougher laws for new drivers could have saved the teenager’s life.
Speaking on The UK Tonight With Sarah-Jane Mee, Sharon Huddleston called on the government to bring in new laws to “help save young lives [and] give teenagers a future”.
Caitlin Huddleston, 18, was a passenger in a vehicle which collided with a van in July 2017. The crash killed both Caitlin and the driver, her friend Skye Mitchell, also 18. A backseat passenger and the van driver were left with severe injuries.
Skye had passed her test just four months before the crash, which occurred after she “entered a bend slightly too fast for her experience and lost control”, Ms Huddleston said.
Caitlin Huddleston and her friend were killed in a car crash in 2017
The car then spun on to the opposite carriageway and in front of a van travelling in the opposite direction.
Ms Huddleston later “found out about a law called a graduated driving licence which could have saved my daughter’s life”.
Sharon Huddleston
In 2023, around a fifth of people killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in car collisions involved a young driver.
Graduated Driving Licences (GDLs) have been introduced in a number of other countries including Canada, where it takes at least 20 months for a new driver to gain a full driving licence by earning in stages.
Young drivers working towards their full licence face extra rules such as not being allowed on the roads between midnight and 5am, and a limit on the number of under 19-year-old passengers.
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What are Graduated Driving Licences?
As reported by Sky News’ Dan Whitehead, evidence shows deaths among 16 to 19-year-old drivers in Canada have fallen by 83%.
But the government has previously stated it has no plans to introduce GDLs, saying they could “unfairly” penalise young drivers.
Graduated driving licences could have saved Caitlin, her mother said
“Our children have been penalised from living their lives,” Ms Huddleston said in response.
“We want this implemented to help save young lives, to give teenagers a future. Our children’s futures were taken from them.
“These children who are killed on the roads, they’re being penalised from living their lives, we shouldn’t have to bury our children,” she continued.
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Ms Huddleston was joined on The UK Tonight by Dr Ian Greenwood, whose daughter Alice died at the age of 12 after a speeding, young driver crashed into a car she was travelling in with her mother and sister.
Dr Greenwood said: “They were speeding, they were distracted, it’s a rural road.
“It’s almost like doing a bingo for the risk factors of a graduated driving licence – other than alcohol, they were all present in that crash.”
The driver of the car and his passenger also died, he said.
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‘My brother would still be here if GDLs were in place’
A Department for Transport spokesperson told Sky News: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
“Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this without unfairly penalising young drivers.”
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