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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-07-16 Daily Xml
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LEARNER AND PROVISIONAL DRIVERS

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:17): Can the Minister for Road Safety advise the house of the changes the government is making to improve the safety of learner and provisional (known as P1) drivers?

The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:17): Young South Australian drivers are significantly over-represented in crashes. On average, 27 per cent of all fatalities in South Australia are of people between 16 and 24 years of age. Novice drivers between 16 and 20 years of age are up to three times more likely to be involved in serious road crashes than older more experienced drivers. Last year, 362 people aged 16 to 24 were killed or seriously injured on South Australian roads, and many of these crashes could have been avoided.

Research carried out by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide has identified the early years of driving as the most dangerous for drivers. In the first three months of driving, 3.24 per cent of provisional licence holders were involved in car crashes. Rounding that up to 4 per cent, that means nearly one in every 25 drivers on their P1 were involved in an accident in the first three months of driving. Research has also shown that using a mobile phone while driving increases crash risk by at least four times. So, the link is fairly inescapable.

Effective at 31 August this year, the state government is banning all learner and P1 drivers in South Australia from using any type of mobile phone while driving. This mobile phone ban forms part of our government's measures to further strengthen the graduated licence scheme for young drivers in South Australia. The mobile phone ban includes using a mobile phone in a hands-free mode with a loudspeaker operating or sending text messages. The ban will continue to apply until a provisional licence holder progresses to P2.

Similar bans for L and P1 drivers using mobile phones and related technology have been introduced in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. It will continue to be legal for L and P1 drivers to make or receive calls and use any other function of their phones while the car is stationary, but this exemption will not apply to a stationary vehicle at stop lights or in a traffic queue.

It is very important that the government does everything it can to assist novice drivers in developing their driving skills and, in turn, to protect them on our roads. This is a measure I know will have the support of all parents in South Australia whose sons and daughters have just commenced driving on our roads.

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