MOTOR VEHICLES (LEARNER'S PERMITS AND PROVISIONAL LICENCES) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Finance, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:35): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Motor Vehicles Act 1959. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Finance, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:35): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Motor Vehicles (Learner's Permits and Provisional Licences) Amendment Bill 2013 amends the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 to enhance the Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS) and improve the safety of young drivers, their passengers and other road users. Despite significant reductions in South Australia's road toll over the past decade, young drivers continue to be over-represented in the road trauma statistics, much more so than older age groups.

In South Australia young people aged 16 to 19 make up 5 per cent of our population, however they account for 12 per cent of our road deaths and serious injuries. Young drivers aged 16 to 19 years in rural South Australia are 2 ½ times more likely to die or be injured in a crash than their peers in metropolitan Adelaide. Statistics show that South Australia has the second worst fatality rate for the 16 to 19-year-old age group of all Australian states and territories, and almost double that of Victoria and New South Wales.

Research shows that young drivers are at greatest risk of a crash in their first year of driving unsupervised. In fact, upon gaining a provisional licence and beginning to drive unsupervised, the percentage of young drivers involved in crashes rises eleven times. Lack of experience, night-time driving and the presence of peer passengers all contribute to younger drivers having an increased risk of being involved in a road crash. The initiatives in this Bill are intended to address this problem. They reflect world's best practice, are evidence-based and are already in place in some form in other parts of Australia.

The amendments within this Bill will do the following:

The Bill introduces a passenger restriction for P1 drivers (under aged 25), allowing no more than one passenger aged 16 to 20 years (immediate family members are exempt and exemptions for employment will apply).

Research shows that young, inexperienced drivers are more likely to be involved in a serious crash when they have two or more peer passengers in the car. In South Australia, 27 per cent of drivers aged 16 to 19 years involved in fatal crashes from 2008 to 2012 were driving with two or more passengers, compared to 13 per cent of drivers aged 25 and over.

In recent years, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have all introduced a passenger restriction for their P1 drivers.

This amendment will mean that a P1 driver will not be allowed to carry more than one peer age passenger aged 16 to 20, with immediate family members exempt. The passenger restriction will not apply if a P1 driver is aged over 25 or if a Qualified Supervising Driver is present in the vehicle. It is also important to note that the restriction will apply for the duration of the P1 licence for 12 months.

P1 drivers will be exempt from the restriction if they are required to carry peer passengers during the course of their employment. P1 drivers will need to be able to provide evidence to prove that they are driving within exemption grounds. Police and emergency workers will also be exempt from this restriction if driving on duty.

The maximum penalty for breach of the restriction will be $1,250, which is the same as the penalty for breach of the provisional high powered vehicles restriction and the offence will be expiable. It will also attract 3 demerit points.

The Bill introduces a night-time driving restriction for P1 drivers (under age 25) between midnight and 5am (with an exemption system).

All drivers have an increased risk of crashing late at night, however the risk is much greater for inexperienced young drivers. In South Australia, 31 per cent of drivers aged 16 to 19 years who were involved in fatal crashes from 2008 to 2012 crashed between 10pm and 5am, compared to 14 per cent of drivers aged 25 years and over.

A night-time driving restriction was introduced in Western Australia in 2008.

This amendment will mean that a P1 driver will not be allowed to drive between midnight and 5am. The restriction will not apply if a P1 driver is aged over 25 or if a Qualified Supervising Driver is present in the vehicle. It is also important to note that the restriction will apply for the duration of the P1 licence for 12 months.

P1 drivers will be exempt from the restriction if they need to drive for employment (including formal volunteer work), education, training or sporting purposes. P1 drivers will need to be able to provide evidence to prove that they are driving within exemption grounds. As with the passenger restriction, police and emergency workers will be exempt if driving on duty.

The maximum penalty for breach of the restriction will be $1,250, which is the same as the penalty for breach of the provisional high powered vehicles restriction and the offence will be expiable. It will also attract 3 demerit points.

The Bill extends the total minimum provisional licence period from two to three years.

The total length of time a new driver must hold a provisional licence will be extended from two years to three. This would comprise 12 months on the P1 stage and 2 years on the P2 stage (up from the existing six months). This will extend the duration of conditions such as the zero blood alcohol limit, speed and vehicle power restrictions and a lower demerit allowance. Extending these conditions will help to keep our young drivers out of high-risk situations without impinging on their mobility.

The Bill removes regression to a previous licence stage following a disqualification period.

The requirement to regress following a period of driver disqualification to the previous licence stage than that held at the time of the offence is being removed. No strong evidence has emerged to suggest that this policy has improved road safety outcomes for young drivers. Instead, drivers who apply for a learner's permit or provisional licence following a disqualification will return to the stage they were at when they committed the offence resulting in the disqualification.

This Bill also contains a number of consequential amendments to the GLS such as:

A night-time driving restriction for learner motorcyclists who have not already obtained a P2 or full licence for another class of vehicle. The amendment will ensure that inexperienced learner motorcyclists will receive the same level of protection as motorcyclists who hold a P1 licence. Learner motorcyclists are already subject to a passenger condition which restricts them from carrying more than one passenger, who must be a QSD.

Currently, a novice driver who is disqualified for a serious disqualification offence must serve a six-month disqualification period, as they are not eligible for a Safer Driver Agreement, and this will not change. However, these drivers are also subject to a curfew when they return to driving, and must not drive between midnight and 5am unless a QSD is present in the vehicle. This curfew will become redundant with the introduction of the night-time driving restriction and is therefore being removed from the Act. A transitional amendment also provides that existing curfew conditions will cease to apply upon commencement of the new legislation. This will avoid confusion for provisional licence holders as to whether they are subject to the existing curfew (without an exemption system) or the new night-driving restriction (with an exemption system).

The Hazard Perception Test (HPT) will become a requirement of graduation from L to P1 rather than from the current P1 to P2. This will allow a young driver's hazard perception skills to be tested before they are allowed to drive unsupervised.

It is important to note that these initiatives are not about punishing our young drivers, they are about protecting them. This Bill has the support of major stakeholders including the health sector, emergency services and the RAA. In conclusion, these amendments are based on sound evidence and represent the Government's commitment to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries suffered by our young drivers, their passengers and other road users.

I commend the Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Motor Vehicles Act 1959

4—Amendment of section 5—Interpretation

This clause amends some of the definitions consequentially to the new section 81A (to be inserted by clause 11).

5—Amendment of section 75—Issue and renewal of licences

This clause amends the minimum age for obtaining a licence from 16 years and 6 months to 17 years.

6—Amendment of section 75AAA—Term of licence and surrender

This clause makes a consequential amendment to section 75AAA(6) (reflecting the fact that P1 and P2 licences are no longer to be 2 different licences but just 2 different phases of the 1 provisional licence).

7—Amendment of section 75A—Learner's permit

This clause amends section 75A to introduce a new offence for 'prescribed learner's permit holders' who are novice motor bike riders under 25 years of age. The new offence relates to riding a motor bike on a road between midnight and 5am without a qualified supervising driver. It is a defence if the rider can establish that he or she was riding the motor bike in circumstances prescribed in proposed Schedule 2 (see clause 21), in the regulations or by notice in the Gazette (provided that such Gazette notices will have effect for a period not exceeding 6 months). The clause also consequentially deletes the current provision relating to driving a motor bike between midnight and 5am (in 75A(10)(c)).

8—Amendment of section 79—Examination of applicant for licence or learner's permit

This clause changes the current 'examiners' under section 79 to 'testers' (to help distinguish them from other examiners under the Act). The clause also removes the requirement for a person who is disqualified as a result of an offence as a learner to resit the theoretical test in order to regain a licence at the end of the period of disqualification and clarifies that, in all cases, it is sufficient if an applicant for a licence has, at some time in the past, produced a certificate to the Registrar certifying that he or she has passed the theoretical test, so that there is no need to keep the certificate and produce it again if for some reason you need to reapply for a licence.

9—Amendment of section 79A—Driving experience

Section 79A is amended—

to replace the requirement for a licence applicant referred to in section 79A(1)(a)(i)(A) to have held a learner's permit for periods totalling 15 months with a requirement that such an applicant have held a learner's permit for periods totalling at least 12 months (of which there must be a continuous period of at least 3 months since the end of the period of disqualification);

to replace the requirement for a licence applicant referred to in section 79A(1)(a)(i)(B) to have held a learner's permit for periods totalling 9 months with a requirement that such an applicant have held a learner's permit for periods totalling at least 6 months (of which there must be a continuous period of at least 3 months since the end of the period of disqualification);

to clarify that it is sufficient if an applicant for a licence has, at some time in the past, produced the required logbook and certificates to the Registrar, so that there is no need to keep these documents and produce them again if, for some reason, you need to reapply for a licence after a break of more than 5 years;

to require completion of the hazard perception test before the grant of a provisional licence (rather than as a requirement to move from a P1 licence to a P2 licence).

10—Amendment of section 81—Restricted licences and learner's permits

This amendment is consequential.

11—Substitution of section 81A

This clause substitutes a new section 81A as follows:

81A—Provisional licences

New section 81A provides for the issue of provisional licences. The provisional licence may be issued as a P1 licence (in the circumstances set out in section 81A(2)) in which case it will be taken to be a P1 licence for a period of 12 months and thereafter will be taken to be a P2 licence. Alternatively, the provisional licence may be issued as a P2 licence in the limited circumstances set out in section 81A(3). Section 81A(4) sets out the provisional licence conditions, which apply to the provisional licence in both the P1 and P2 phases. Subsection (5) provides that a provisional licence holder cannot be granted a non-provisional licence unless he or she is at least 20 years of age, has had a P2 licence for at least 2 years and is not subject to alcohol interlock conditions. Subsection (6) allows a court disqualifying a person to order a longer P1 or P2 period in relation to the person. Subsection (7) allows the Registrar some discretion to waive or alter requirements of the section in granting a licence to a person who has held a foreign licence or who is of a class prescribed by the regulations (as per the current 81A(11)). Subsection (8) is the same as the current section 81A(12). The remaining subsections set out offences and other provisions relevant to those offences. The provisions in subsections (9) to (15) all have equivalents in the current section 81A, but subsections (16) to (21) contain new provisions applying to P1 drivers under the age of 25 and restricting driving between the hours of midnight and 5 am and driving with peer passengers in the vehicle.

12—Amendment of section 81BA—Safer Driver Agreements

This clause makes consequential amendments to section 81BA (including deleting the requirement that a person who has been granted a P1 licence after entering a safer driver agreement spend 2 years and 6 months at the P1 stage (instead of the usual current requirement of 2 years)).

13—Amendment of section 81BB—Appeals to Magistrates Court

This clause makes consequential amendments to section 81BB (including deleting the requirement that a person who has been granted a P1 licence after successfully appealing against a disqualification spend 2 years and 6 months at the P1 stage (instead of the usual current requirement of 2 years)).

14—Repeal of section 81BC

This clause repeals section 81BC which currently requires licence regression for a person who has progressed to a non-provisional licence but who then incurs demerit points in respect of offences allegedly committed while a provisional licence holder under the age of 19 years.

15—Amendment of section 81C—Disqualification for certain drink driving offences

16—Amendment of section 81D—Disqualification for certain drug driving offences

17—Amendment of section 98BD—Notices to be sent by Registrar

18—Amendment of section 98BE—Disqualification and discounting of demerit points

Clauses 15 to 18 each make a minor change to clarify the wording of the relevant sections of the Act and make them consistent with section 81B(1) (so they all refer to the Registrar 'becoming aware' of some fact).

19—Amendment of section 141—Evidence by certificate etc

20—Amendment of section 145—Regulations

Clauses 19 and 20 each make a consequential change to a cross reference.

21—Insertion of Schedule 2

This clause inserts a new Schedule as follows:

Schedule 2—Prescribed circumstances (sections 75A(21), 81A(17) and 81A(19))

This Schedule sets out various circumstances that will be 'prescribed circumstances' in which a driver may have a defence to the new offences in sections 75A and 81A relating to carriage of peer passengers and driving between midnight and 5am.

Schedule 1—Transitional provisions

The Schedule makes provisions of a transitional nature.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Gardner.