Queenslanders stuck on L-plates as logbook system takes effect

by Robyn Ironside – Courier-Mail

THOUSANDS of Queenslanders are stuck on their L-plates as they struggle to amass the 100 hours of supervised driving experience required to get a licence.

Figures released by Queensland Transport show for the first time learners outnumber provisional licence holders.

There are now 177,348 people on their L plates compared with 166,916 P-platers.

That is a 68 per cent jump in the number of learners since the introduction of the logbook system in 2007. In that time the number of provisional licence holders has fallen 7 per cent.

Paul Kennedy, of the Australian Driver Trainers Association of Queensland, said there was no doubt logbooks had caused the number of people stuck on their learners licences to rise.

“I have quite a few students who have had to renew their (three-year) learners permit and are going into their fourth year,” Mr Kennedy said. “If they don’t have anyone to drive with, don’t have access to a vehicle or if they don’t have access to a road network because of where they live, it’s very hard to reach 100 hours, even in three years.”

Howard Dennerstein, of Rightway Driving School on the Gold Coast, said it had a “massive” number of students who had not completed their test.

“Some people put it in the too hard basket and just wait,” he said.

“They are well aware that once they reach 25, they can go straight away and do a driving test, they don’t have to have a logbook.”

The logbooks were introduced as part of a raft of changes to improve the standards of young drivers and reduce deaths among youths aged 17 to 24.

But Queensland Transport figures showed the changes have made little difference, with pass rates for driving tests remaining virtually unchanged in the past five years and young people still over-represented in the road toll.

In the year to September, drivers aged 17 to 24 were involved in 63 fatal crashes – 26 per cent of the road toll. That was down from 30 per cent of the overall road toll four years ago.

Student Peta Lewis, 20, said she had tried since the age of 17 to get a licence but found the expense and time involved off-putting.

“I just never had the money and no one would help me,” Ms Lewis said.

Queensland Transport is reviewing the logbook system. QT did not respond to inquiries.

» Click Here to go back to news