Changes to the state's highly successful Graduated Licensing Scheme are set to ensure new drivers become safe drivers.
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Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils' Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, says the changes, which come into effect from Monday, November 20 are designed to improve the way the scheme prepares novice drivers - in particular young drivers - to be safe.
"The first six months of solo driving is the highest risk period for novice drivers,” Ms Suitor said.
“Since the introduction of the Graduated Licensing Scheme in 2000, there has been a 50% reduction in the number of young drivers killed on NSW roads.
“However, young drivers continue to be over-represented in road crashes. They make up 8% of licence holders, yet their crashes account for 15% of all fatalities," Ms Suitor said.
The Graduated Licensing System takes drivers from their learner licence to full licence with restrictions and conditions that are designed to ensure they build their skills and knowledge so they understand risks and are safe on the roads.
The three main changes include:
Learner drivers will now be required to complete the Hazard Perception Test before undertaking the practical driving test.
Provisional 1 drivers (red P Platers) no longer have to undertake the Hazard Perception Test to graduate to their provisional 2 licence (green P's).
The Driver Qualification Test has been removed for P2 drivers to graduate to a full licence, though a six month extension will be imposed if a P2 driver receives a suspension for unsafe driving behaviour.
These changes will align the NSW licensing system with other jurisdictions and better prepare novice drivers for real world hazards.
There are transitional arrangements in place for current learner and provisional 1 and 2 licence holders.
"By taking the Hazard Perception Test, learner drivers will be more prepared for common crash scenarios before they start driving unsupervised.
"The new suspension rules for P2 drivers make sure that novice drivers have a good driving record before they can apply for a full licence. Licence suspensions apply for getting too many demerit points or for a higher risk offence like speeding by 30km/h or more. The extra six months a suspended driver will need to spend on their P2 licence will encourage safe driving behaviour," Ms Suitor said.
Since October 2017 NSW learner drivers can now also use digital logbooks to record their 120 hours of on-road supervised driving.
Ms Suitor said there are three approved apps that learner drivers can download for free and access a digital logbook, GPS tracking, automated weather conditions, video lessons and goal setting.
"All learner drivers are able to use the Licence Ready, Roundtrip or L2P app as their learner driver logbook. The apps are available for free through the Android Play and Apple app stores.
"The apps are designed not to distract learner drivers or their supervisors while driving and ensure learners follow the rules relating to the use of mobile phones in vehicles," Ms Suitor said.
All of these licence changes will be covered in upcoming 'Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers' workshops which are being held across the three council areas.