Third bereaved mum calls for new driver rules

A third grieving mother who lost a child in a car crash has joined a campaign for stricter controls on newly-qualified drivers.

Toni Purcell's son Harry, 17, died alongside Matilda "Tilly" Seccombe and Frank Wormald - both 16 years old - in a two-car collision near Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, on 21 April last year.

Together with Tilly's mother, she has backed a petition started by Crystal Owen following the death of her son Harvey in Wales alongside three of his friends.

The government, which said it works "tirelessly to improve road safety", responds to petitions that reach 10,000 signatures. Those gaining 100,000 names are considered for debate in Parliament.

But Ms Purcell wanted calls for a progressive licensing system for young drivers to be looked into quickly.

She said: "Why does it take 100,000 signatures before they'll take notice, do they want another 100,000 deaths before they do anything about it?".

"Just open your eyes, if it's not your own children it might be your grandchildren, it might be you one day," she added.

"I never thought it would be me, it could be anybody."

Campaigners are calling for a graduated licence scheme for young motorists and tighter restrictions on carrying passengers under the age of 25 for the first year after passing their driving test.

So far, it has received more than 15,150 signatures of support.

A fourth teenager, Edward Spencer, was injured in the Warwickshire crash and a woman and two children travelling in a second car were taken to hospital.

More than 1,300 young people were seriously injured or killed last year in road accidents.

The petition also calls for a minimum learning period of 40 hours, restrictions on driving at night and mandatory hazard perception training.

"It's a no brainer, it protects our children and it will save lives. It would have saved Tilly's life, I'm sure," said Juliet Seccombe, Tilly's mother.

"I just wouldn't want anybody to go through the pain that we are going through.

"Why wouldn't you try to protect our young drivers, our young passengers in the car and save lives."

Ms Owen, who launched the petition, has also urged parents to talk to their teenagers about road safety guidelines.

Her son died when the car he was travelling in overturned

Shrewsbury College student Harvey was found with Jevon Hirst, 16, Wilf Fitchett, 17, and Hugo Morris, 18, in a partially submerged car in Gwynedd, last November.

The campaign is supported by road safety charity Brake, which said one in five newly-qualified drivers crashed within their first year on the roads.

The Department for Transport said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with Harvey Owen's family.

“We continue to work tirelessly to improve road safety. We’ve commissioned research designed to help learner and newly-qualified drivers improve their skills and safety, while our Think! campaign is specifically targeted at young drivers.”

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