Coroner joins grieving mothers’ call for tighter controls on newly qualified drivers
11th Dec 2025
The mother of a teenager killed on his way home from school has praised a coroner for backing her call for tighter controls on new drivers.
Harry Purcell, 17 tragically died alongside two other teens in a collision in Warwickshire in April 2023. Edward Spencer, 19, was given a two year custodial sentence earlier this year after admitting causing deaths and serious injuries by careless driving.
The recent inquest into Harry’s death heard Spencer, who had only passed his test six weeks before the tragic incident, had been speeding and had a history of “showing off”. Harry’s mother, Toni Purcell, has been working with HCC Solicitors to push for Graduated Driving Licenses (GDL) to be introduced in the UK. Assistant Coroner, Linda Lee, said she backs the proposals and also issued a Prevention of Future Death report.
Toni, alongside serious and catastrophic injury specialist, Patrick Maguire, believe the Government should implement a GDL system that prohibits young or inexperienced drivers from carrying passengers in the months after passing their driving test. The pair say Harry’s death highlights the risk associated with newly qualified drivers, and believe a 12 month minimum learning period with a mandatory log book system should be introduced. They believe the learning should include driving in the dark, hazard perception training and displaying a ‘P’ plate on their vehicle to identify their licence status among other things.
Toni said: “Edward Spencer was speeding when he killed our son. Harry’s death was completely avoidable. Our family and so many other families will forever be impacted by his actions that day yet he and his family have shown no remorse since it happened. Harry had so much to live for and we loved every minute of watching him grow into the kind, loving and funny young man he was before he died. We cannot let his death be in vain – we need to make sure others aren’t harmed because of a person who hasn’t realised the damage that can be done by a two tonne lump of metal.”
The coroner’s report will now be sent to the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. It’s hoped steps will be taken to reduce the risk of future deaths from road traffic collisions through a change in legislation.
Patrick Maguire, who is representing the Purcell family in a civil case, added: “What has been evident in this case is that Edward Spencer didn’t realise the threat he posed at the wheel. Sadly this is not uncommon for new drivers and that is why greater controls need to be introduced to monitor them. New Zealand has implemented a GDL system and seen a 23 per cent reduction in car crash injuries involving 15 to 19 year olds. Ontario has implemented a similar system and seen a 42 per cent reduction in crashes between those aged 20 to 24. There is clear evidence that road traffic collisions can be lowered by introducing restrictions on those who are new to the road.”
The inquest was covered in the press and you can read more here:
If you’ve been impacted by a serious road collision, contact one our team of specialists.