• Strategy

• Safer roads and roadsides
• Safer road users
  • Speed and speeding
  • Drink driving
  • Drug driving
  • Fatigued driving
  • Driver distraction
  • Young drivers
  • Older drivers
  • Motorcyclists
  • Pedestrians
  • Cyclists
  • Heavy vehicle drivers
  • Public transport users
  • Country road users
• Safer vehicles
• Download Victoria's road safety strategy

Young drivers

Young drivers are defined as motorists aged 18 to 25 years.

Approximately 44 young drivers are killed and 990 seriously injured on Victoria’s roads each year. These drivers account for over one-quarter of driver fatalities, yet represent only 13 per cent of all licensed drivers.

A young driver in their first year of probationary driving is in the most vulnerable group of all road users. Probationary drivers are involved in casualty crashes at three times the rate of experienced drivers.

 Annual number of drivers in casualty crashes per 10,000 licences and learner permits (2002-2006)

Several issues are important in reducing the involvement of young drivers in road crashes:

Inexperience: Crash risk is highest in the first year of driving. Inexperience is the most significant factor in young driver crashes.

Multiple passengers: Research shows that carrying multiple passengers significantly increases the risk of an inexperienced driver being involved in a fatal crash. The risk of a probationary driver being involved in a fatal crash increases four fold with two or more passengers. Around 26 per cent of first year probationary drivers involved in fatal crashes are carrying two or more passengers, but only 9 per cent of their total driving and 7 per cent of their trips involve driving with two or more passengers. Multiple passengers, in particular a group of alcohol affected peer passengers, pose a dangerous distraction and can encourage risk taking for an inexperienced driver.

The risk of a probationary driver being involved in a fatal crash increases four fold if they are carrying two or more passengers.

Risk taking: Young novice drivers face high levels of risk when making the transition from supervised to solo driving. Lack of experience and increased risk taking, such as drink driving and speeding, contribute to increased crash rates for novice drivers.

Drink driving: Alcohol is a contributing factor in some 20 per cent of deaths in drivers aged 18 to 20 years and some 50 per cent of deaths in drivers aged 21 to 25 years.

Vehicle safety: Young drivers are more likely to drive smaller, older cars that are less crashworthy and have fewer safety features. This places them and their passengers at greater risk of serious injury or death in the event of a crash. Promoting vehicle safety features to drivers in the market to purchase their first vehicle is an important measure to improve young driver safety.

What the strategy will do

Measures taken through arrive alive 2008 - 2017 to improve young driver safety include the following:

• Introducing a new graduated licensing system that will ease young drivers into the driving task and assist in ensuring that the issue of driver inexperience is addressed systematically.
• Introducing a new P1 (one year) and P2 (three year) probationary licence system, with a more restrictions in the P1 period, and a requirement for a good driving record to progress through licence stages to a full licence.
• A peer passenger restriction for P1 drivers, who will be limited to driving with one peer passenger.
• Examining further graduated licensing measures.
• Promoting the purchase of safer vehicles to young drivers.
• Trialling a best practice post-licence driver development program.
• Promoting responsible and safe practices by younger drivers.
• Undertaking targeted initiatives to improve young driver safety in country Victoria.
• Promoting voluntary take up of alcohol interlocks and intelligent speed assist (ISA) to reduce risks among young drivers.