At Hull Crown Court, Nigerian national Kusemi was also banned from driving for 11 years after he failed to stop at a crossroads and hit the car driven by the 70-year-old, who had right of way. The pensioner died at the scene and her husband was left seriously injured.
Kusemi failed four further tests following the crash before finally getting his UK licence in March 2025.
Nationals from China, India, Israel, Nigeria, Malaysia, Pakistan and the USA are among those who can drive for 12 months if they hold licences from their home countries – even if they fail UK driving tests during that period.
In Kusemi’s case, the 12-month period for relying on his Nigerian licence had already expired by the time of the fatal crash, but the coroner called for the law on the grace period to be brought into line with UK drivers.
In a prevention of future deaths report, Harris said: “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/international licence in the UK, despite not meeting the safety standards set by the DVSA,” Harris said.