Nearly 100,000 people back major change to UK driving licence rules

A petition started by a bereaved mother has received nearly 100,000 signatures after losing her son in a car crash. In 2023, four boys, all under 18, lost their lives after getting into a car crash in Gwynedd.

In 2024, mum of Harvey Owen, one of the boys who lost his life, Crystal Owen started a petition calling for changes to be made to driving laws which would prevent 17 to 19-year-old drivers from carrying passengers aged 25 or younger, unless accompanied by an older adult.

As of Monday afternoon (February 17), a whopping 96,736 people have signed the petition, which now has a new target of 150,000.

On the petition, Crystal wrote: "Last November, my beautiful 17-year-old son Harvey Owen and his three friends, all 18 and under, tragically lost their lives in a car crash.

"I was unaware, he was being driven to Wales by a newly qualified driver he had met at college, not the older, experienced driver I thought he was with. After sending me a photo from the house he was staying at, they set off for a camping trip.

"Less than two hours later, the car left the road on a bend and ended up in a water-filled ditch, causing them all to drown. Losing a child to an avoidable crash is an indescribable pain.

"My story is not unique, almost 5000 people are seriously injured or killed in a road traffic collision involving a young driver aged 25 and under, each year in the UK."

Crystal continued: "The boys' deaths could have been prevented if Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) had been in place. GDL has proven effective worldwide for over 30 years, reducing deaths and serious injuries involving young, inexperienced drivers by up to 40%. I am now part of a campaign group of over 150 bereaved families called ‘Forget Me Not Families