The NSW Graduated Licensing Scheme will change on Monday, 20th November to improve the way the scheme prepares novice drivers to be safe. Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention
Officer, Melanie Suitor said: “The first six months of solo driving is the highest risk period for novice drivers.”
The three main changes include:
1. Learner drivers will now be required to complete the Hazard Perception Test before undertaking the practical driving test.
2. 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).
3. 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.
Since October NSW learner drivers can now also use digital logbooks to record their 120 hours of on-road supervised driving. Melanie said there were three approved apps 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.”
All of these licence changes will be covered in upcoming ‘Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers’ workshops to be held across the three council areas. Find out more information about the changes, visit www.rms.nsw.gov.au/licence