Shrewsbury mum calls for tougher driving tests
Crystal Owen wants graduated licences after the deaths of her son and three friend in a car crash.
Last updated 2nd Feb 2024
A mum from Shrewsbury who lost her son in a tragic crash in North Wales is launching a campaign to change driving licences across the UK.
Crystal Owen's son Harvey died along with three of his friends Jevon Hirst, Wilf Fitchett and Hugo Morris.
Their car left the road and was found submerged in water in Garreg, near Tremadog in Snowdonia in November 2023.
A major search had been launched after the boys went missing following a camping trip.
Harvey's mum Crystal, who runs a bakery in Shrewsbury, is now petitioning the UK Government to bring in graduated driving licences.
She said: "Graduated licences do save lives. There's a huge amount of research on this and there's evidence to back it up in the countries where they have been introduced. That evidence shows that it significantly reduces the deaths of young drivers.
"They have to have a minimum of say 40 to 50 lessons, which stops crash courses, where young drivers are allowed to cram driving lessons into a short period before sitting their driving test. When this happens, they're not getting the varied experience of different driving conditions that they need.
"The graduated licence will also mean they're not able to carry passengers under the age of 25 for the first year. "
Crystal described her son Harvey as "laid back, charismatic and cheeky".
"He was the most gentle soul, always feeling empathy for people and seeing the good in everyone" she said.
"He was always passionate about his latest craze, whether that be his pets, BMX, his skateboarding or more recently his passion for playing guitar, jazz music, poetry and art.
"When this happens, you realise children are not just statistics and that it's absolutely devastating for families.
"In the future I plan to go into youth clubs, colleges, schools and do as much as possible to raise awareness around road safety."
Brake, the UK road safety charity, wants any graduated driving licence system to include a 12-month learner period, an initial test, and then a probationary period when drivers can drive independently but with restrictions – such as a late-night driving curfew or restrictions on the age of their passengers.