South Australian State Government releases road safety paper

Date: 20/8/2012

The State Government in Adelaide in South Australia has released a paper entitled Graduated Licensing Scheme Initiatives to Protect Young Drivers.

There were 1,100 submissions in the consultation period before it was put together in order to outline proposals to cut the nearly 4,000 16 to 24-year-olds killed on South Australia's roads in the last ten years, reports Adelaide Now.

A number of ideas were mooted, including raising the minimum driving age from 17 to 18-years-old, which was welcomed by road safety groups, but deemed to be discriminatory by youth-interest organisations.

In all, two-thirds of those responding to the consultation did not think that the age should be increased.

Another proposal looked at placing restrictions on those driving with P-plates, which denote that a driver has been on the road for less than three years.

One such restriction would mean that they were not allowed to drive at night, though a midnight to five o'clock in the morning curfew was split down the middle with 40 per cent for and 40 per cent against the measure.

Further restraints on P-plate drivers which were suggested included restricting them to carrying only one passenger under the age of 21, but nearly half of respondents were against the idea.

A representative from the South Australia Youth Affairs Council said: "Research suggests that the most effective way to reach this group and modify their behaviour is through targeted interventions."

The (RAA) Royal Automobile Association of South Australia said it would back an increase in the minimum driving age to 18 if the number of supervised driving hours was also increased from 75 to 120.

This would bring it in line with the rules governing driving in the neighbouring state of Victoria.

The RAA said it would require "an exemption system for those who suffer genuine hardship and require a provisional licence to access education and/or work."

Now that the paper has been released it will form the basis of a plan to be finalised and taken to the Cabinet in order to create a new Bill next year.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News