County Durham family speaking with Department for Transport about their campaign
They are calling on the government to ban the sale of second-hand and unroadworthy cars to underage drivers
Last updated 1st May 2025
A County Durham family are speaking with the Department for Transport at Parliament today (9th April) about their campaign to ban the sale of second-hand and unroadworthy cars to underage drivers.
18-year-old Andrew Rowlands from Consett died in 2020 in a collision, after an under-aged driver was able to purchase a dangerous car for £100 from social media.
His family are calling on the government to make it a legal requirement at the point of sale of a secondhand vehicle to request proof of age and photo id, update the current V5C, and develop a seller portal via the DVLA vehicle check system.
They say failure to follow this process should lead to a prosecution or a fixed penalty for the seller.
His dad, John Rowlands, said: "It's almost five years since Andrew's life was taken at the hands of an underaged, inexperienced, unlicensed driver.
"He was able to buy a totally unroadworthy car, which absolutely should have been crushed, never mind being on the road.
"Why is it you can still buy your car privately without a driving licence?
"I can’t ever bring my son back. I will never have another son again. Andrew is gone.
"But if I can save someone’s son, daughter or loved one, then it would have been worth all the sleepless nights and heartache."
He continued to say: "We would like someone to recognise that there is an issue. There is still an element that’s open, a dangerous element that’s open.
"Whilst you can argue and say that the system is pretty good and efficient - we just need to look at ways to make say a good system, better."