Tough new restrictions for Vic P-Platers
February 7, 2008 by Matt Brogan
The Victorian State Government has introduced passenger restrictions on first year P-plate drivers in an attempt to curb the growing representation of this group in road toll statistics.
Coming in to effect on July 1, the new laws are among several recommendations for all road users which will be progressively introduced over the course of the year.
P-plate drivers in their first year of driving will now be prevented from carrying more than one passenger aged 16 to 21, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unlike other states, this restriction will apply 24 hours a day.
VicRoads will have the ability to waive the passenger restrictions if young drivers are using their car for essential activities, such as travelling to TAFE, uni or work.
Special exemptions will also apply on family grounds though full details of these exemptions are as yet unknown (as are any penalties for breaking the restriction).
Other plans in the pipeline which will apply to all drivers include:
- Extending 40km/h zones in local school and shopping zones
- Cancelling the license of drink drivers with BAC levels in excess of 0.1 per cent immediately with no court trial
- Mandatory fitment of electronic stability control to all cars by 2011 and side curtain airbags by 2012
- Demerit points redemption by means of road safety course
- An additional $50 million allocation for road upgrades
Premier John Brumby has said of the changes that “Every family touched by tragedy on our roads is one family too many, so we must always strive for new and innovative ways to reduce the road toll”.
Motoring bodies including the RACV have welcomed the move.
What do you think? Will it work or could the money have been better spent on driver education? Let us know.
Print it: 
*****PRIMO!*****
Fair enough, some youngens drive like real c’ockspanks
Still, the place is going to the dogs and becoming a police-state!
Cheers
F-0
good stuff.
QLD & NSW have similar schemes so far as I know, though not 24/7. But still, I’m inclined to agree.
If young drivers were taught at a more detailed level not only how to drive the car itself, but adjusting your driving and attitude to the conditions you’re surrounded by, eventually we’d all be better off.
I’m all for the $50M (or more) being spent to introduce Driver’s Ed in to schools if it means fewer kids become road toll statistics.
Re the P plate rule: it’s only for 12 months so no big deal really (particularly considering the possible exemptions).
Re the ESP/airbags: I think it is a typical politicians viewpoint. It does not reward good engineering, just manufacturers that can tick boxes. A better solution is minimum crashworthiness, not the options list. Having these aides does not necessarily mean a car is safe.
Either way, in 3 years Vics will start to see their new vehicle choices deminish.
Also – so much for having a designated driver for the weekend.
bloody stupid, 24 hours a day is a joke.
- P-plate restrictions
Seems to go way too far. It certainly doesn’t help the designated driver campaign as you will need more cars to get the same number of people home from a party.
- Extending 40km/h zones in local school and shopping zones
As long as they are signposted well and it is clear when they are active. Not all of us know when the school terms are.
- Cancelling the license of drink drivers with BAC levels in excess of 0.1% immediately with no court trial
Let’s just get rid of the courts altogether and get the cops to decide punishments.
- Mandatory fitment of ESP to all cars by 2011 and Side Curtain Airbags by 2012
I dunno, I’m sure there are cars with both of these that are unsafer than a car with a good crash structure. A Holwoo Barina with ESP won’t change the fact it is a death trap.
- Demerit points redemption by means of road safety course
This is good.
- An additional $50M allocation for road upgrades
This is good also.
awseome, so now we can have more p plate drivers behind the wheel instead of car pooling.
Bloody short sighted.
Are these guys just idiots. Again the point is missed, teach these people to drive properly. Just because some kid can reverse park and do a three point turn we give them a license to drive a lethal weapon. The authorities need to wake up to themselves and make some hard decisions that will cost money in the short term, but the amount of money it will save in the long run is immeasurable (not too mention pain and anguish).
Well said Alex & Anthonii – couldn’t agree more. Matt’s right too, what about Driver’s Ed? Does anyone know if it actually works statistically? US model perhaps? We had it at school in Year 11 & 12 but it was an elective subject in leiu of sport.
The one passenger restriction for the first year is valid. Why? Most of these kiddies tend to act like morons when they have their mates with them to egg them on.
Driver training has become the average car enthusiasts answer to everything, but it isn’t that simple.
How do you teach someone to drive patiently and carefully observe road conditions? How do you teach them not to act like wankers when their mates are in their car or alongside in their cars?
Real education should always start at home with parents, of course. It is difficult to shrug that responsibility onto the government.
As far as current training, though, it is a joke. They force young ones to check their mirror every 3 seconds, how to reverse park (do you remember the reverse-around-corners test?) and other useful, but not-safety-related skills.
Do they teach/test emergency braking procedures? No.
Do they teach/test appropriate wet weather cornering speeds (like on a skid pad)? No.
There’s much that can be done.
But safer cars and better roads will have much more impact than trying to stop idiots from hurting themselves. As long as we have roads that you can fall off into trees at high speed in the country, we’ll have deaths.
I reckon this is just another spur of the moment decision. When I got my P’s that also meant I could drive my brother and sister to and from school — meaning my parents didn’t need to lose time during work hours. Public transport in our area WAS AND STILL IS very average.
What does this mean for other people now in my situation??????????? They have to choose which sibling gets to be driven to school???????
Just a stupid law!!!! 99.99999995% of teenagers live through their teenage driving years. All this will do is cause more teenagers to potentially lose their license by breaking a pointless law.
Has everyone forgotten what it was like to be young????
And this law will be broken!!!!
Nominated drivers on a Friday and Saturday night will do the right thing by their mates and GET THEM HOME rather than have them being STUCK ON THE STREETS!!!
Hey Tom, While I’m a fan of driver training, I agree that you can only go so far to change a person’s nature. But think about it “alongside in their cars”…. They’ll always be along side because the can’t car-pool any more.
So now we’ll have more P-Plater drag races.
Drivers-Ed will only create a rev-head (full stop). It’s not going to solve anything. If your a rev head your not going to change over night with some so called expert on driving. Yes maybe it will dwell in the 17 year old kids mind for about a day, but when your with your mates and your beats are pumpin load and testosterone is flowing through you at a young age then well we get the rev-head.
Nothing wrong with the new P-plater rules.
Mandatory fitment of electronic stability control to all cars by 2011 and side curtain airbags by 2012.
My understanding is that this can only be done by the Federal Government by way of an Australian Design Rule.
Perhaps the Editor can enlighten us.
Spitfire: The ADRs only apply to cars to go on sale in Australia as a whole. Individual states can apply extra stuff on top, but not downgrade what the ADR has stated.
Example: If the ADRs specify a certain minimum seatbelt width and strength, a state cannot set width or strength below that. They can specify a higher specification though.
I also agree with these changes to P license drivers, they are their own downfall. Statistics show that 18-24 year olds rank highest among accidents and fatalities, and having been in the car with some young people in the past I can understand this decision. Driver education can only do so much, seriously what are you going to tell the drivers who are going to be idiots anyway? Unfortunately it is one of those issues that people overcome through age and experience.
I completely agree about these laws affecting the designated driver program. It’s like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. On one they say have a dezzo to drive your mates home safely, and on the other they say it’s too dangerous.
They really don’t seem to understand do they.
The government can pass all the laws it likes, but until the police enforce, then these laws mean nothing. There’s 1,000’s of unroadworthy vehicles on our roads & 1,000’s of unlicensed drivers. Its a sick joke! I drive about 1,000 kms each & every week, the stupidly, carelessness & down right dangerous driving of many drivers is frightening. Where are the police – not a one to be seen from one week to the next.
They seem to think that cameras are the solution….
My friend’s son has 2 kids. And he also just got his P’s (He’s young). He will now have to take his wife and one child somewhere they’re going to, come back and take the other child later.
This really is a crap idea that isn’t going to help anything.
funny someone mentioned the “designated driver” for the weekend..
but most P-platers do not fit that scenario…
most of them cant afford grogs.. usually the driver is the one who works the passengers are a bunch of students with no jobs….
what kills them literally is that they SHOW OFF.
I know its a generalization, but its a fair one since I have siblings with mates who fit the exact scenario and I have also met my friend’s siblings with the same situation…
P-platers in general are just tools…. stooges…. douches… I for one feel like smacking everyone of them every time I see them at the traffic light with their arms hanging out trying to look intimidating in their crap box with 3-4 mates in the car…. I actually chased a car once me and a friend of mine after the driver and his mates started weaving in front of me and then when I beeped, they went next to me and stuck their fingers up… so followed them….. showed them I was gonna crack heads open and they just crap their pants… all show no action… sorry bad case of road rage..
Not just P-platers who drive like morons. Today driving to work for example, a VN Holden Ute was in front of me doing 40 in a 50 zone (no speeding involved) holding up traffic then going around a bend crossing the double white lines, not just clip them half the friggin car was on the wrong side of the road. Then turned left at a round about, no blinker (must be optional on this ute) then straight through give way sign without looking. Then through a red light, didnt even slow down, it was a pedestrian only traffic light but I see elderly ladies crossing there all the time and they don’t look. Then a right turn (right blinker must be standard) then chuggs along at 30 in a 50.
By the way the guy was in his 40s. That’s just plain dangerous drivng but not a cop car to be seen. We need to change people’s attitude fast.
i can put up with the curfue that says only one passenger is allowed in the car between 11pm to 5am but this is just plain stupid. the less people in a car the more cars the more drink drivers there will be. there will be more drug adicts more lesbians more gays and more fat people walkin round takin up the whole freeway. so john brumby you are a horse.
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tony gervasi a a small dick
and tiny nuts
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i believe that this new law that is soon to be implemented is a load of rubbish. Whats the point of having restrictions… people are just going to smuggle more people into the car when the cops arent looking. What happens if you want to go to work or to the city for a day or to the beach… or on a day trip.. what u can olny take one person??? thats silly.. if 10 people want to go somewhere then 5 cars are going to have to drive up. wat a waste of pertrol? its also going to encourage more drink drivers as there will only be aloud 2 people per car when going home.. this means one can drink and one cant because they have to drive… its just stupid
If you are going out on a weekend to the city, parking is BEYOND expensive, and with more cars having to be used due to inability to car pool, P platers (generally students) will struggle to afford these parking costs! Also, wasn’t the governments aim to reduce the number of cars on the road for pollutions sake? Bit of a contradiction I believe.
this passanger limit is pathetic. its just goin to cause more drink driving, more p platers on the road, more traffic and the affect on the polution. i reckon brumby you should have another good think about you doin. if your so eager to place restriction at least give us a time for passanger limit.
This new law is an outrage on Brumby’s behalf, since when did throwing more inexperienced P platers on Victorian roads make roads ever more safer?
i agree some p platers drive like idiots, but what about the ones that always do the right thing?
Also what about designated drivers they wont be allowed to carry more than one person which will just encourage more p platers to drink and then drive. I think its a crock, and it wont stick, i think it will kill more people than it will save. Plus how hard is it going to be to get one of these ‘exceptions’?
who thought up this new law? he must be a real butthead. doesn’t the government realise that p-platers won’t listen to this new law anyway. They will continue to drive their friends because there might not be another way, and how long will it take to get these so called ‘exceptions’?
this new rules for p-platers use have is the most shittest rules that you can think of i mean having only 1 passenger and u cant be out after 11 i mean what are use doing whats the point of having your license use basicly restricting everythink from us no one likes these rules at all everyone i know now doesnt even want to go and get there ps becouse of these stupid rules use are going to far with all of this, im hearing from everyone complaining about all of this saying that the rules are shit and that they hate everything about it and not only they hate the state that their living in there starting to hate the country!!. and now if use thing its gona help and keep everyone happy ill answer that noo its not goin to. THE MOST SHITTEST JOB USE ARE DOING IS THIS STUPID RULES.
I honetsly think its a load of bull.
Yes some P platers go over the top with stupid driving and sill stunts that does, in some cases cost lives.
But to punish all?
To not be aloud to have more than 1 passenger in the car under the ages of 18 is absolutly ridiculous. What if i had to go pick my little sister up from a friends place but i had my boyfriend or girlfriend in the car? I just leave my sister to fin her own way home? or kick the boyfriend or girlfriend out of the car?
And on top of that less passengers means more cars on the road. More P platers on the road? Which will mean more traffic and more Green Hours Gases.
Thankgod I live in Perth, Idiots.
wat a joke, how we supposed to have a designated driver? So much for decresing the road toll, when you will be increasing the number of p plate drivers on the road, which is only going to lead to drag racing and road rage.
i agree with jarrod, this is a stupid law, increasing on road accidents as there will be more in experienced drivers on the road!
i think that the laws about p-plates is way to far because its not just p-platers its some with people with full licence, and cammaras can also give a foles reading and errors and the government doesn’t think people thay speak and wast money on somthing that we don’t need and the laws are not going to do nothing because there are hardly any police around when we need them. so its a load of cobs walot.
whats the penalty for getting caught with to many passengers on ur red p’s in vic?……