Edition 40, November 2006

Graduated driver licensing for young Queenslanders

Queensland will soon be introducing graduated licensing to improve young driver safety.

In 2005 Queensland's young drivers (17 to 24 years of age) accounted for 13 per cent of drivers and an alarming 32 per cent of road fatalities.

To address this, input was sought from the community to determine licensing and education changes needed to improve safety for young drivers.

The graduated licensing system affects learner and provisional licence holders and will be introduced on a staged basis between 2007 and 2009.

Key changes include:

  • The minimum learner driver age will be lowered to 16, and learners will need to hold this licence for 12 months before progressing to a provisional licence.
  • Provisional licences will be divided into two categories: P1 and P2. After 12 months at P1 level, drivers must pass a hazard perception test before progressing to P2.
  • Learners under 25 will need to gain 100 hours of certified, supervised on the road driver experience.
  • Learner and P1 licence holders under 25 will not be permitted to use mobile phone hands-free tools, blue-tooth accessories or loud-speaker functions. Restrictions also apply to the use of these devices by other people when learner and P1 licence holders under 25 are under instruction.
  • Young people wanting to apply for a motorbike licence will first need to have had a provisional car licence for 12 months.
  • L and P plates will be compulsory.
  • Peer passengers will be restricted to one passenger under 21 between 11.00 pm and 5.00 am for P1 drivers under 25.
  • Provisional licence holders under 25 will have restricted access to high-powered vehicles.
  • Disqualified and suspended young drivers will be subject to additional restrictions.

For more information contact Queensland Transport on 132 380 or visit www.transport.qld.gov.au to download one of the fact sheets outlining the graduated licensing scheme.

This page was generated on 09 October, 2009

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