A CONCERNED coroner is calling for action around newly qualified drivers after the deaths of three teenagers in a crash in south Warwickshire.
It follows inquests for 16-year-old Matilda – Tilly – Seccombe and Harry Purcell, 17, who along with Frank Wormald, 16, were killed in a crash near Shipston in April 2023.
Edward Spencer, 17 at the time of the crash, had only passed his test six weeks earlier. In April 2025 he was given a two-year custodial sentence after admitting causing their deaths by careless driving.
Linda Karen Hadfield Lee, HM acting area coroner for Coventry and Warwickshire, asked for responses from a number of organisations, including the Department for Transport (DfT), and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
Addressing the government, she said the inquest noted that newly qualified drivers could carry “multiple peer-age passengers” immediately after passing their test.
The report said: “This case suggests that inexperience, peer presence and full vehicle loading can combine to elevate risk, and it is unclear how current licensing arrangements address these combined factors.”
Warwick Crown Court heard in April that Spencer had a history of “showing off” at the wheel and the inquest heard that unsafe driving behaviour was recorded and shared privately on Snapchat prior to the crash.
The vehicle was travelling at excessive speed, inappropriate for the road layout and the presence of several young passengers. Expert evidence indicated that loss of control was consistent with lift-off oversteer, occurring when the driver realised too late that he had entered the bend at excessive speed and lifted off the accelerator. His corrective actions were ineffective, causing the vehicle to cross into the path of an oncoming car.
The coroner also said there was a concern as to whether the current licensing arrangements properly reflected the conditions that young drivers faced.
She referred to the fact that the new drivers were not required to demonstrate an understanding of how passengers affect braking, stability and handling.
Ms Lee continued that the standard driving test did not require experience on rural roads with tight bends, undulations or variable grip.
The crash happened on the rural, single-carriageway B4035 near the Portobello crossroads in Shipston.
Ms Lee is urging the DfT and the DVSA to respond to her report by February 18.
