Night ban on young drivers 'is an infringement of liberty'

Date: 23/9/2010

A graduated driver licensing (GDL) system would restrict the freedom of young drivers to an unacceptable extent, it has been suggested.

Adrian Walsh, director of RoadSafe, said banning young people from driving at night would no doubt reduce the number of car accidents but would also be an "infringement" of their liberty.

Researchers at Cardiff University recently told the World Safety Conference the introduction of GDL - where newly-qualified motorists are not allowed to drive at night, drink any alcohol or carry passengers of a similar age - would save over 200 lives a year.

But Mr Walsh termed the night-time restriction "ridiculous", arguing youngsters would not be able to drive to work.

"We need to find other ways of achieving the casualty reduction", he stated.

Mr Walsh proposed the introduction of new approaches to education, which are currently proving successful in trials, that teach young people how to manage risk.

Posted by Sarah Bailey