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The father of a young man killed in a high-profile Muskoka crash this summer applauded last night's proposed changes in the rules for Ontario's new drivers, which he'd been publicly pushing for since last month.

Tim Mulcahy has advocated changes that would tighten the rules for drivers under 21, namely strict no-speeding and no-alcohol rules, punishable by a revoked licence. His son, 20-year-old Tyler Mulcahy, and two friends died in a July crash after the young man lost control of his car, which rolled and plunged into Lake Joseph. Alcohol and speed were factors.

Yesterday, the province mused openly about changes that could be coming if new legislation passes this fall, declining to offer details but acknowledging Mr. Mulcahy's campaign.

"The dad is taking inspiration from the death of his son to look for a public policy change, which he believes would make the roads safer for all our kids," Premier Dalton McGuinty said. "He may be on to something."

Those words came four days after Mr. Mulcahy took out a full-page advertisement in a Toronto newspaper, which began "Dear Mr. McGuinty, My Son is Dead." Mr. Mulcahy, who has not yet spoken with the Premier, was pleased to hear the news.

"Wow, it's good of him to acknowledge," Mr. Mulcahy said in an interview. "I know they've already been thinking about these things, and I hope that this will help them push it through faster."

Statistics indicate new drivers - especially younger ones - are more accident-prone. To deal with the issue, Ontario introduced graduated licensing for new drivers in 1994. The current system keeps them off certain major highways, sets a minimum of 20 months before earning full driving privileges and limits how many people inexperienced drivers can carry in their vehicle.

The proposed changes would likely target new drivers, and not those already in the graduated licence system.

"It's not that we're trying to pick on young people, but that's where we see accidents happening over the years," Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said yesterday. "There's a feeling that young people are more easily influenced by outside circumstances than others are."

Mr. Mulcahy agreed and said tighter rules would teach good habits at a young age. His son had already demonstrated an affinity for speeding, and had, with three friends, consumed 31 drinks before getting into the car.

"Right now, [young drivers] are given a free pass to be able to break the law. In my son's case, he had two tickets. I knew nothing about it. I knew nothing about his penchant for speed," Mr. Mulcahy said last night. "If his licence had been pulled when he got his first demerit-point-worthy speeding tickets, he wouldn't have been driving and the accident probably wouldn't have occurred."

Mr. Bradley was reluctant to provide details of the licence changes, pending review by his cabinet colleagues.

"Suffice to say it's designed to make our roads safer," Mr. Bradley said.

He said other individuals and groups have also expressed support for changes to toughen the licensing requirements.

Mr. Mulcahy has started an online petition, at TylerMulcahy.com, calling for such changes. More than 3,500 people have signed.

With reports from The Canadian Press