Parents in the driving seat: Event puts families at the heart of young driver safety

A recent From Learner to Licence online event brought together parents, experts and campaigners for a powerful conversation about how families can protect young drivers during their riskiest years on the road.

Hosted by Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership on October 2, the webinar was facilitated by Ria Francis, a professional presenter and young driver herself.

“You are the most important driving instructor your teen will ever have”

Transport researcher Dr Elizabeth Box, from the RAC Foundation, explained why the first year after the test is so high risk - and why parents matter so much.

Drawing on more than 20 years of research into young driver safety, she described how:

• The first 6 to 12 months of independent driving are the most dangerous

• Teenagers’ “reward” and emotion centres are highly active, while impulse control is still developing into the mid-20s

• Even sensible young people can take more risks when friends are in the car or emotions are running high
  

Liz talked about the three roles parents play:

• Model - the habits your teen sees in your driving (seat belts, speeds, phones) are the ones they copy

• Mentor - during learning, you’re a coach, helping them practise in different conditions and talk through hazards

• Monitor - after the test, your role shifts to setting expectations, keeping communication open and agreeing sensible boundaries

She encouraged parents to help their teens create “if-then” plans in calm moments - for example, “If I’m tempted to check my phone, then I’ll pull over in a safe place instead” - so they have a script ready when pressure kicks in.

Caitlin’s story: why safeguards matter

Attendees heard from bereaved mother and campaigner, Sharron Huddleston, who shared the tragic story of her daughter Caitlin.

Caitlin was 18 when she was killed as a passenger on a wet rural road in Cumbria. The driver, who was also 18 and had passed her test just a month earlier, was also killed in the crash. No laws were broken - the coroner found the crash was due to inexperience and entering a bend too fast for the conditions.

Sharron now campaigns for Graduated Driving Licensing (GDL) and has created the Caitlin’s Message campaign to raise awareness of:

• The heightened risks on rural roads

• The danger of peer-age passengers - with crash risk rising sharply as more friends get into the car

• The reality that more than 70% of deaths in young driver crashes are passengers and other road users, not the driver
  

Her message to parents was clear: even while we wait for the law to catch up, families can choose to put their own safeguards in place - for example, no same-age friends as passengers for the first six months.

Turning insight into action at home

Driving instructor Kate Monk and roads policing Sergeant Owen Messenger then joined Ria for a rapid-fire round table, sharing practical ideas for an “at-home GDL”:

• Limit passengers and high-risk times - especially late nights, weekends and social trips

• Keep practising together - different roads, weather and times of day, with you in the passenger seat to support

• Agree family rules in writing - curfews, passenger limits, phone use, and what happens if rules are broken

• Have an “any time, no questions” pick-up plan - so your teen never feels forced to accept a risky lift
  

Owen also reminded parents that, in the first two years, just six penalty points will revoke a young driver’s licence - and a single mobile phone offence can be enough to lose it.

Continuing the conversation

As the final poll showed, many parents left the webinar planning to talk to their young person, offer more guidance in the early months and share what they’d learned with other families.

If you missed the online event you can catch the recording here: From Learner to Licence