Bereaved mothers are campaigning for tougher driving licence restrictions to be introduced across the UK to improve road safety.
Bridget Lucas lost her 20-year-old son Lawrence Bruce in August 2022 when the car he was travelling in crashed on the A420, prompting her to call for Graduated Driving Licences to be introduced.
Lawrence Bruce was returning from a music event in Oxfordshire when the fatal crash occurred. He died at the scene alongside fellow passenger Joseph Sharpe and driver Callum Leighton, who were both 18. Two other passengers survived.
An inquest concluded the crash was caused by fatigue, with Ms Lucas telling BBC Radio Wiltshire that the driver "probably fell asleep and veered into an oncoming coach".
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Campaigners are calling for tougher driving licence laws to be introduced
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She added: "Losing a child where, arguably, it could be prevented by a change in the law... it's not going to save all lives, but it could save so many. The driver had not been drinking. The driver was young. He was inexperienced."
Graduated Driving Licences already exist in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, parts of the United States, Finland, Norway, Sweden, France and Northern Ireland.
Ms Lucas is proposing a UK-wide version that would prevent new drivers from carrying passengers under the age of 25 until they have been driving for six months, or have turned 20.
"It's to stop young people having a group of friends in a car when they don't have the experience to handle the distractions," she explained.
The campaign is led by Crystal Owen from Shrewsbury, who lost her 17-year-old son Harvey in a car crash in North Wales in November 2023.
Six mothers of road crash victims, including Ms Lucas and Ms Owen, delivered a petition to Downing Street after it was signed by more than 100,000 people.
The group of bereaved parents has continued to grow since then, with Ms Lucas noting that it has "well over 100 members".
The campaign is calling for several specific measures to improve road safety for young drivers, including a minimum six-month learning period before taking a practical test.
New drivers would also be prohibited from carrying passengers under 25 for their first six months, unless accompanied by an older adult, while all cars would need to be fitted with a tool to break windows in emergencies.
Violating these rules would result in six penalty points, leading to immediate licence suspension, with Ms Lucas saying the temporary restrictions are designed with road safety as the aim, not to disadvantage young people.
Dr Roz Savage, Liberal Democrat MP for the South Cotswolds, acknowledged Ms Lucas's "admirable" awareness-raising efforts, but expressed concerns that restrictions could cause issues for young drivers in rural areas.
The Department for Transport has already ruled out the possibility of introducing a GDL system, instead focusing on road safety among young people.
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Joanna Alkir, Crystal Owen, Alison Greenhouse, Nicola Bell, Bridget Lucas and Naomi Crane delivered a petition to Downing Street earlier this month
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The spokesperson added: "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.
"We are determined to tackle this, including through our THINK! campaign, which has a focus on men aged 17-24 as they are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than other drivers."
