A Nigerian migrant who had twice failed his driving tests in the United Kingdom has been jailed for causing the death of a pensioner in a road crash that has raised concerns over gaps in the country’s licensing system.
Timothy Kusemi, 41, struck 70-year-old Susan Whittles in a 2023 collision while driving unsupervised on a provisional licence.
The elderly woman died at the scene, while her husband sustained serious injuries.
An inquest into the incident heard that Kusemi had been operating under a learner arrangement that allowed him to remain on the road despite repeated failures in driving examinations.
He later admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to six years in prison last month.
The inquest revealed that Kusemi arrived in the UK in 2022 and failed his driving tests twice before the fatal crash.
He subsequently failed additional tests before eventually obtaining a full UK driving licence in 2025.
Coroner Lorraine Harris, who presided over the inquest, highlighted what she described as a gap in existing regulations that allows some foreign nationals to continue driving unsupervised under international or provisional licences.
“If a national of a non-designated country fails any number of driving tests within the 12-month period, they are still able to revert and rely on their 12-month limit to drive on their foreign or international licence in the UK, despite not meeting the safety standards,” she said.
She warned that the absence of a mechanism to restrict repeated test failures from continuing to drive posed a significant public safety risk, calling for urgent review of the law.
