Mechanisms of Law Reform – Young Drivers and the Law:
Summary of Report Findings and Initiatives
1. Keys2Drive - Australian Government, National Road Safety Council
http://nrsc.atcouncil.gov.au/young_drivers/
By: Nicole and Samuel
2. Report on Young Driver Safety & Education Programs - NSW Parliament Staysafe Committee
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/7AAF6ED09D659875CA2574FF001B2BEE
By: Jessica and Julie
3. Improving Safety for Young Drivers - NSW Government & RTA Initiative
http://www.brake.org.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=L4lITI5AtCs%3D&tabid=62&mid=550
By: Emily
4. Graduated Licensing as an Option for Managing Young Driver Safety - Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC)
http://www.austroads.com.au/pdf/TestMethod2/2._Graduated_licensing__Sep_06_.pdf
By: Alex and Eric
5. Road Safety Implications of Further Training for Young Drivers - Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC)
http://www.austroads.com.au/pdf/TestMethod2/1._Training_for_young_drivers__Sep_06_.pdf
By: Laura and Kylie
6. Submission on Young Driver Safety - Australasian College of Road Safety
http://www.acrs.org.au/srcfiles/Young-Drivers-NSW-2-05.pdf
By: Theju and Mia
KEYS2DRIVE
· Young drivers aged 17-25 years are over-represented in serious crash statistics, and make up 25% of drivers killed
· In May 2008, Australian government announced it would provide funding of $17 million for the Keys2Drive initiative which would deliver 200 000 free driving lessons to learner drivers and their parents in the next 5 years
· The Council is supportive of the Keys2Drive program, which is delivered by Australia Automobile Association (AAA), and promotes the initiative on its website.
· The NRSC is also investigating ways in which it can collaborate with the AAA and the Department of Infrastructure and Transport in promoting this important initiative.
· In 2009, 178 drivers aged 17-25 years were killed in road crashes across Australia
· Young drivers are at the greatest risk of a casualty crash in the first 6-12 months of gaining their licence
· Australian studies have shown that young people (under 25years of age) tend to drive vehicles that are both older, and provide pooper occupant protection, than vehicles driven by older drivers.
· To apply, register online and then book a free driving lesson with an accredited professional driving instructor
· This Australia Government-funded project is aimed to provide learner drivers and their parents/supervisors with a few driving lesson that will help to eliminate young driver fatal and casualty crashes on the road in the long term
· KEYS2DRIVE provide basic knowledge and information in an easy to read format to educate the younger public about driving
· Driving lessons will help parents to be more patient with their young drivers and teach them to be safer on the road.
· Young drivers will learn from professional instructors so that they understand to be aware of other drivers on the road.
REPORT ON YOUNG DRIVER SAFETY & EDUCATION PROGRAMS (summary)
Stay safe Committee
Parliament of NSW
Why this initiative was formed
· Young driver safety is something that affects the entire community and the nation as a whole.
· If young people are not supported and equipped to drive safely on roads tragic consequences will continue on roads.
· The most significant factor of fatality on roads is inexperience and risk taking thus the report makes recommendations to improve support and services to young drivers.
· These recommendations will assist road safety authorities, researchers, education, and training providers as well as young people and their families to take ownership of the solutions provided in the report.
Statistics
· In NSW young male drivers are involved in approximately 30% of fatal crashes and 29% of all vehicle crashes.
THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT
· Discuss underlying causes of traffic crashes.
· Recommendations to support and services to young drivers and their families.
· Examines different level of support in rural and regional areas and makes further recommendations to assist young drivers in country areas.
RECOMMENDTATIONS:
· There are 27 recommendations made in this report. These outline the responsibilities of agency groups. These are few examples.
· Establishment of interagency working group, comprising RTA, NSW health, other government agencies. That these should develop a comprehensive plan to collect and disseminate consistent road safety statistics and information.
· Centre for road safety should be the responsible lead agency and promote this database and ensure that collected data is accessible in a variety of formats to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders and interest groups.
· NSW department of Education and training and the Department of Juvenile Justice should be involved in conferring resistance to further offending behaviour for young drivers less than 18 years of age.
Improving Safety for Young Drivers
NSW Government and RTA Initiative
· More young people own and/or drive motor vehicles than ever before
· The annual road toll in NSW has fallen from a high of 1384 in 1978 to 539 in 2003
· Initiatives such as random breath testing and compulsory seatbelts were breakthrough reforms that resulted in dramatic reductions in road deaths and injuries
· Other government initiatives include:
o Safer vehicles
o Better roads and;
o Ongoing community education about road safety have also contributed to improvements
· The Graduated Licensing Scheme was introduced in July 2000 specifically to improve training and licensing arrangement for new drivers
· People under 26 years comprise only 15% of driver licenses but are involved in 36% of road fatalities
· A 17 year old driver with a P1 license is about 4 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a driver aged 26 years or older
Additional requirements on young drivers through the Graduated Licensing Scheme:
· A minimum period of 12 months on P1 license
· A maximum of 3 demerit points on P1, after which the license is suspended for at least 3 months
· A mandatory hazard perception test before progressing to P2
· A minimum period of 24 months on P2
GSL
· Young Drivers over-representation in crashes Is usually attributed to three factors.
o Inexperience
o Immaturity
o Increased risk exposure
· Graduated License Systems aim to reduce the impact of all three factors
· Graduated License was first proposed in the early 1970’s by Waller in response to the over-representation of young drivers in North Carolina
· The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) subsequently developed a GLS model in the mid-1970s (Williams 2000), which was offered to all US states along with financial incentives for implementation.
· Graduated licensing is a system for phasing in on-road driving, allowing beginners to get their initial experience under conditions that involve lower risk and introducing them in stages to more complex driving situations
· Specifically, GLS incorporate initiatives with several aims:
o Expand the learning process
o Reduce risk exposure, to allow young-drivers to gain the much-needed driving experience in controlled lower-risk circumstances
o Improve driving proficiency
o Enhance motivation for safe driving
· The GLS approach has been likened to an apprenticeship system, usually entailing three stages with varying requirements and restrictions:
o A learner period
o An intermediate or provisional licensing period
o Full license, after the first two stages are complete
· The Four different GSL models currently used in Australia are:
Victoria (VIC), Northern Territory (NT), Queensland (QLD), Tasmania (TAS) & New Zealand
(NZ):
— learner phase
— intermediate licence phase
— full licence.
New South Wales (NSW), South Australia (SA):
— learner phase
— first intermediate licence phase
— second intermediate licence phase
— full licence.
Western Australia (WA):
— first learner phase
— second learner phase
— intermediate licence phase
— full licence.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT):
— learner phase
— intermediate licence phase
— optional second intermediate licence phase
— full licence.
· Some proposed changes for GSL in Australian jurisdictions include:
o Introducing an increase in the learner permit holding period to 12 months
o Introducing a requirement that learners must gain 100-120 hours of supervised driving through logbook system
o Dividing the provisional license phases into two stages
· The available evidence strongly supports graduated driver licensing as a means to lower young driver’s deaths and injuries. Further, while the relative contributions of the individual conditions and restrictions underpinning graduated licensing also remain largely unquantified, the evidence suggests that increasing supervised driving experiences during the learning period, nil alcohol provisions, peer passenger and night-time restrictions will have substantial impact. However, support for graduated licensing needs to be qualified by two factors:
o At least some of the schemes need to be further evaluated to establish why they work, in particular, to determine the possible role of decreased licensing.
o The full social impact of graduated licensing schemes needs to be closely monitored, with a view to providing additional support where needed. The issue of additional support is particularly critical for those young drivers with only limited access to extended practice during the learner period.
Road Safety Implications for further training for young drivers (MUARC)
Young drivers’ high involvement in road crashes is often attributed to a lack of driving skills.
Consequently, there is a regular call to make additional driver training mandatory, either before or
during the first years of driving.
The association between age and crash involvement holds true at very specific
Levels; drivers starting to drive at 18 will have fewer crashes that drivers starting at 17, drivers starting to drive at 19 will have fewer crashes than drivers starting at 18, it generally takes some 20 years following licensing to achieve the safest driving levels.
The high crash involvement rates during the first years of driving have frequently led to a call for more and better training of beginner drivers.
Why conventional driver training fails to reduce young drivers’ crashes;
The following are some of the reasons why driver training is ineffective;
· It may be unreasonable to expect driver training to work, given that the courses are generally of short duration and often concentrate on acquiring only the basic skills.
· Many of the participants may be relatively unmotivated to acquire safety habits – partly because of the stage of their lives, partly because of the primary objective of getting a license rather than necessarily driving safely.
· Training often contributes to earlier licensing (even if formal training does not shorten the qualifying period) and, hence, increases overall driving exposure.
· The relevant skills that might be imparted by training are likely to decay over time through lack of practice and need, given that crash-threatening circumstances are rare even amongst young drivers.
Whilst the issue of young driver over-involvement in road crashes represents a major road safety issue, the research suggests that conventional training programs are unlikely to lead to safety benefits. Other options, such as extension of practice during periods of supervised driving and the further development of graduated licensing schemes are generally viewed as more promising priorities in this area.
Submission on young driver’s safety by the
Australiasian College of Road Safety
· This report is a response to the discussion paper on young driver’s safety released by the NSW government. The college has also published a policy on young drivers in attachment to this submission.
· The ACRS has a strong interest in young driver’s safety and the following submission includes possible initiatives and options that may increase safety.
Option 1- The experience, training and age.
· Initiative – increase the mandatory period of supervised driving for learners from 50 hours to 100 hours. This is because research has indicated that the greatest deficiency in novice drivers is their lack of judgement and skill.
o ACRS agrees
· Initiative – increase the minimum of learner licence period to 6- 12 months for drivers under 25 and extend the validity of the licence from 3-5 years. This will increase the driver experience targeting the major issue.
o ACRS agrees
· Initiative – increase the provisional licence age to 18, as this will reduced exposure at younger age.
o ACRS disagrees because that would be the same age as drinking age therefore increasing the threshold experiences
· Further development of formal driver training by piloting a novice driver program.
o ACRS supports
· Initiative – increase driver training by piloting driver education programs in NSW high schools. This will increase on the standing of risks factors and peer pressure
o ACRS agrees
· Initiative – develop driving ability on road tests to include more hazard perception and safe driving practises.
o ACRS recommends that any proposals must be checked thoroughly.
Option 2 – Vehicle and licence restrictions
· Introduced a limited of no more than one passenger for P1 drivers under 26
o ACRS considers that passengers restrictions should be on drivers most vulnerable periods not all times as a result of inconvenience and unpopularity
· Initiative - Introduced restriction to prohibit P drivers under 26 from driving high powered heavy vehicles
o ACRS considers introduction a vehicle power or weight restriction.
· Initiative – modified demerit point structure for graduated licence scheme as the present structure allows space for minor offences.
o ACRS does not support further lowering the demerit schedule
Option 3 – Night Driving
· Initiative – introduced a night driving restriction between 10pm and 5 am for define period for P1 drivers under 26, exemptions will be implements for emergencies and driving to and from work.
o ACRS considers that if a restriction is placed it should be accompanied by extensive public education and reflect and the greatest risk factors
· Initiative – included a requirement of 15 hours of night supervised on road training for learner drivers
o ACRS agrees but if the log book is increased from 50 – 100 make this component 20 hours.
This submission aims to reduced the over representation of young drivers in road trauma. This submission created in 2005 has been implemented as evident in latest rules for learner and provisional drivers reflecting law reform.