- The number of young drivers killed or hurt on the roads each year is far too high
- We need to link responsibility at school to responsibility on the road
- A Liberal Government will do that, and much more to make our roads safer
We need to build a culture of responsible driving in Tasmania and we need to start early. We need to begin that process in our schools, and we need to show the next generation of drivers, that driving is a privilege, not a right.
Under a Hodgman Liberal Government, we will introduce two new initiatives to better prepare novice drivers for the responsibility of being on the road.
We will introduce driver education in Years 9 and 10, and completion of these courses will be a condition of a student getting a learners’ permit before they turn 18.
Secondly, students applying for their learner permit will have to provide proof of satisfactory school attendance and evidence that they have no pattern of suspensions or expulsions before they can get the learner permit.
Otherwise, they will not be eligible to be issued one until after they turn 18 or they have earned the privilege of being able to apply.
This is a visionary approach to road safety for our future generations – linking their responsibility at school to their responsibility behind the wheel.
If students want to play up and play truant, then why should we trust them with a drivers’ licence before they are legally an adult?
And I know that students itch to get their drivers’ licence – this approach will help ensure they understand it is a privilege, not a right.
Laws have been introduced in the United States to link school behaviour to getting a licence and we’ll draw on their experience in implementing our model.
We want to reinforce a road safety message before students start learning to drive.
And better driver behaviour applies to older drivers as well. In government, we would look at incentives to encourage mature drivers to undertake accredited defensive driving courses.
The Tasmanian Liberals have been leading on road safety for years. It is because of our leadership, that the government has recently implemented a number of our policies, including drug testing of drivers, high visibility patrol cars and car confiscations (although our policy goes much further).
Other road safety initiatives we will implement in government to make our community safer, and to make Tasmania a better place to live, include:
- Divert speed camera revenue into road safety
- Implement compulsory driver education for drivers who lose their licences
- Provide incentives for learner drivers who undertake professional driver training
- Install permanent speed cameras at identified traffic black spot sites
- Establish a dedicated Road Safety Authority
- Provide a more visible traffic police presence
- Implement double demerit points on public holidays and long weekends
- Confiscate the cars of hoons and serious repeat traffic offenders
We’ll also support Tasmania Police visiting our schools to talk to primary school age children about safety in the community, and especially on the road.
