Young drivers would only be allowed to carry family members as passengers under new plans

One in eight drivers is under 25, but they account for one third of the number of people who die on the country's roads (ALAMY)

Young drivers may face a ban on carrying passengers who are not members of their family as the Government seeks to cut the number of deaths on the road involving teenagers, it was reported.

Other measures which the Government could look at include banning novice drivers from carrying passengers at all.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he would consider measures put forward by the Association of British Insurers which could cut the number of accidents involving young motorists.

"I read regular reports where three or four young people have been killed in a car, and it's a new driver, and you wonder what happened," Mr McLoughlin told the newspaper.

"When I talk to young people who have recently passed their test, what they say sometimes is that peer pressure is put on them to go fast, to show off.

"They are not anticipating an accident, but something goes wrong. They are not drivers with a huge amount of experience by the very fact of their being new drivers. I think we have got to look at that.

"There is a suggestion as to whether you should look at a restriction whether anyone could carry passengers for six or nine months when they have first passed their test.

"There are suggestions about them only perhaps being allowed to take a family member to drive a car when you are learning, you have to have a qualified driver in the car. So these are all sorts of areas that I think we can look at."

According to the Association of British Insurers one in eight drivers is under 25, but they account for one third of the number of people who die on the country's roads.

It estimates that an 18-year-old driver is three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a motorist 30 years older.

In 2011, drivers between 17 and 19 were involved in 12,000 crashes, of which more than half resulted in serious or fatal injuries.

The association has also called for a curfew banning young drivers from the roads at night.

The Institute of Advanced Motorists called on the Government to adopt a "more positive approach that encourages new drivers to gain experience rather than denying them the opportunity to do so".

A spokesman said: "The first thing the Government must do is revise the driving test to include rural roads where most young drivers die or are injured."

PA