Teenage drivers may face licence limits

LIMITS could yet be placed on the number of teenage passengers that a teenage driver is allowed in his or her car.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is planning a review of the driving test, including examining how a graduated driving licence would work.

Under a graduated driving licence structure, a newly licensed driver must abide by certain conditions for up to a year after passing the test.

Several states in the US have imposed a limit on the number of passengers that a teenage driver can carry in the first six to 12 months. They found that, on average, fatal crashes fell by 37% after the limit was introduced.

Teenage friends on the back seat tended to distract the young driver.

The Association of British Insurers published a report yesterday that urged the government to put restrictions on teenage drivers.

It said this would prevent 270 fatal and serious injuries a year.

RSA chief executive Noel Brett yesterday said that under the Road Safety Strategy, up to 20 recommendations have been made in relation to a graduated driving licensing system.

“We have considered that some measures should continue to apply for the first two years after acquiring a driving licence. The limiting of teenage passengers is an issue that could be examined as part of this review,” he said.