Sharron Huddleston’s 18-year-old daughter, Caitlin (pictured), was killed in a crash on a rural road in Cumbria in July 2017. She was a passenger in a car, driven by her 18-year-old friend, who also died, who had passed her test just four months previously. The crash was put down to the inexperience of the newly qualified driver. Sharron has been campaigning for Graduated Driving Licensing (GDL) ever since.

With the support of others, Sharron has formed an action group – Forget-me-not Families Uniting – to bring together other bereaved families, who have experienced the tragic loss of a young family member in a road crash and are supporting the introduction of GDL in the UK.

Sharron has asked RoadPeace to share this message with members:

“Do you believe that a family member has been a victim of an outdated driving licensing system in the UK?

Mainstream media has regularly reported on all too frequent car crashes resulting in the deaths of young people on our roads.

For years, evidence-based research has been presented to Government on how these tragic young deaths would be reduced significantly by a Graduated Driving Licence. This phased licensing system has been in place in other countries for many years. It has proven to reduce deaths and serious injuries of young drivers and their teenage passengers in collisions by having safety precautions in place for short periods. One element of this system, is that young newly qualified drivers do not carry friends/peer-age passengers for a limited time after passing their driving test (six months or up to a year), until they have gained more experience driving solo or with an older experienced driver.

Do you believe that Graduated Driving Licensing could have helped prevent the loss of a young family member involved in a fatal car crash?

We are inviting anyone who has experienced the tragic loss of a young family member due to a road traffic collision where a young driver has been involved, to please get in touch with us to share your story. Also, we invite you to join our bereaved families’ group campaigning and raising awareness of the need for GDL for young drivers and their young passengers.

If you would like to become involved or have any questions regarding this issue please contact me by email at sharronhudd70@gmail.com”

Read Sharron’s blog here.

Updated on: 28 March 2024