Young
drivers will be offered the chance to learn more about road safety and
reduce their logbook driving hours under a raft of changes by the NSW
Government covering Learner licences.
Learners who take part in a new Safer Drivers Course and also have
professional lessons will be able to reduce their compulsory supervised
driving hours from 120 to 80.
Learners will also be allowed, from 1 July 2013, to travel up to
90km/h instead of 80km/h, giving them more supervised driving experience
on higher speed roads in preparation for their graduation to P-Plates.
This follows a recommendation by the Auditor General to review learner speed limits.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the Safer
Drivers Course, which will become available to Learners from July, will involve both theoretical and practical coaching.
“It also teaches learner drivers about gauging road conditions,
seeing issues that could affect them and making safe decisions,” he
said.
“This is a first step in rewarding the state’s younger drivers for learning safer behaviour behind the wheel.
“Young drivers are tragically over-represented in the NSW road toll
and we want to ensure they are all given the opportunity to learn about
road safety while they are still learning the basics of driving.”
Mr Gay said the course would be gradually rolled out based on community uptake and the availability of service providers.
“We’ve carried out market research with parents and learner drivers who believe the course will benefit them,” he said.
“They have told us it tackles the very aspects beginners face when they first start driving.
“The
course deals with different road conditions, understanding factors
beyond a driver’s control and also helps identify risks on the road.
“We recommend that learners enrol in the course when they have 50
hours completed in their logbook. By that stage they will have basic
driving skills and will understand and appreciate the lessons they will
be taught.
“This is a different approach to conventional driver training which focuses more on the mechanics of driving and road rules.”
A board of road safety experts including representatives from Centre
for Road Safety, Roads and Maritime Services, NSW Police, road safety
researchers and education specialists developed the course.
The course has also been supported by an advisory panel which
included industry and community representatives including NRMA, driver
trainer associations and community based road safety education
providers.
“The course will help those young drivers who struggle to log 120
hours behind the wheel while on their L-plates while at the same time
addressing safety issues they will face when they first drive solo,” the
Minister said.
The cost of the course will be capped at an affordable price for each
participant and any additional cost of delivering the course will be
covered by the Community Road Safety Fund, which has been established to
ensure infringement revenue directly finances road safety initiatives.
The board identified options to help young drivers from remote, lower
socio-economic and Aboriginal communities meet the requirements to
qualify for their P-plates.
Work on these options is underway. A pilot of a restricted
provisional driver’s licence for young people in three remote NSW
communities west of the Newell Highway will also begin in July.
Under 25-year-olds in those remote areas will be able to obtain a
provisional drivers licence, only for the purpose of driving to work,
education and medical appointments. They can only be given the
restricted licence if they have passed the driving test and completed at
least 50 supervised driving hours.