'They are behind a lethal weapon' - Shrewsbury mum renews calls for graduated driving licences after teen detained

Crystal Owen continues to fight for the introduction of graduated driving licences for young people after the death of her own son Harvey in November 2023.

The 17-year-old and three of his friends died in a tragic road accident during a camping trip to North Wales.

Earlier this month, she handed a 100,000-signature petition to Downing Street as part of her campaign for the introduction of greater restrictions on young drivers, who have just passed their test.

Now, after Edward Spencer, 19, was today (April 28) jailed for causing the deaths of three teenagers, Crystal has renewed calls for action. 

Graduated licensing typically involves the issuing of an intermediate license with restrictions, including on night-time trips or journeys with multiple passengers, to cut back new drivers’ exposure to high-risk situations.

Warwick Crown Court was told on Monday that 19-year-old Spencer, then 17, passed his driving test six weeks before causing the deaths of passengers Harry Purcell, aged 17, and Tilly Seccombe and Frank Wormald, both aged 16, by careless driving.

The court heard Spencer, a pupil at Chipping Campden School in Gloucestershire, was speeding at 64mph towards his home in Newbold on Stour in Warwickshire in April 2023 when he lost control of his Ford Fiesta and crashed head-on into another car.

The trainee joiner was sentenced to two years’ detention on Monday after also admitting causing serious injury to two children and their stepmother, who were travelling in the second vehicle.

Reacting to the news, Crystal Owen described his sentence as "madness".

She said: "It is madness that they allow a child who is 17 and not able to buy alcohol, not able to drive until they pass their test, but then the day after they pass, be responsible for three other lives and more potentially. It is utter madness. 

"In any other walk of life they would be given extra supervision if they were responsible for other people's lives - you wouldn't just let a trainee doctor, say, loose. 

"They are behind a lethal weapon and are more at risk than any other age group, and nothing is being done to protect them or other road users. 

"This law has been successful in other countries. I can't understand why it hasn't been implemented here.

"If they don't then this will continue over and over and we need to change the law to protect them. This is happening daily, there are five teenagers that die daily on UK roads and yet they drive less miles than any other age group."

In statements issued after Edward Spencer’s sentencing, relatives of the victims backed calls for the Government to bring in stricter rules for new drivers.

Juliet Seccombe, Tilly’s mother, said in a statement: “Even though the numbers of young drivers have dropped significantly since 2010, in 2023 they caused 4,959 deaths and serious injury on the roads.

“That is over 95 per week. This number has increased by 11 per cent from the year before according to government data, and these collisions are almost never an accident – they are nearly always preventable, and it’s due to young drivers using or holding mobile phones, inappropriate speed or speeding on rural roads, risk taking and showing off, as well as drug abuse, all of which, when you combine this with inexperience, is a recipe for disaster.

“The saddest part about it is that it’s generally innocent bystanders or other road users who are killed or suffer life-changing injuries – not the irresponsible driver.”

Issuing a direct message to the Government, Ms Seccombe added: “Whilst you are not considering graduated driving licences, you have recognised that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads.

“You have been exploring options to tackle the root causes of this for decades. It’s time for action, not procrastination. Otherwise, more families will suffer the devastating loss of their loved ones.”

Toni Purcell, Harry’s mother, said: “We want the Government to look at what’s happening in our country.

“We do support a graduated driving licence, but alongside that, our family in particular feel that the Government can impose a mandatory black box system, which is already in existence.”

Meanwhile, the stepmother of the two children seriously injured by Spencer also backed calls for graduated driving licences to be brought in.

The woman, who cannot be named to avoid the identification of her children, said: “I think that young drivers are in, and cause, a disproportionate number of accidents.

“I think a lot of that is to do with education, I think a lot of that is to do with other young people being in the car at the same time.

“A car is a weapon.

“Graduated driving licences have been proven to work in other countries. And there is no reason why our Government cannot stand up and bring this forward and start helping young people.”