Graduated Licensing Scheme for L and P drivers

Anyone wanting to get a driver’s licence in South Australia must progress through the Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS). The GLS provides a staged progression from the Learner’s Permit time of supervised driving, through unsupervised but restricted solo driving (Provisional Licence), to unrestricted solo driving (Full Licence).

This staged approach encourages growth in knowledge, skills and driving experience, but under supervisory influences and restrictions. The restrictions are successively lifted or relaxed as the driver progresses through the stages.

Novice drivers who gain extensive experience in a range of road conditions become more able to deal with different driving events or adapting to conditions they are not used to. Such drivers also improve their hazard perception skills and ability to scan the road ahead, adding to the range of advanced thinking skills essential to the driving task. Obtaining large amounts of supervised driving hours has been shown to reduce young driver crashes.

The stages of the GLS are explained in detail on the MyLicence web site.

Improvements to the Graduated Licensing Scheme

March 2013

New initiatives aimed at further reducing the over representation of young drivers in the road toll have been proposed.

Get the full details on MyLicence web site.

4 September 2010

A series of changes were introduced to the GLS on 4 September 2010 to help novice drivers progress safely towards a full driver's licence gaining life-long safe driving practise and experiences along the way.
The key measures included:

• Increasing the minimum time required on a learner’s permit from 6 to 12 months for drivers under the age of 25 years. 
• Increasing the minimum supervised driving time for learner's permit holders from 50 hours (including 10 at night) to 75 hours (including 15 at night). 
• Increasing the maximum speed limit a learner's permit holder may travel on a road from 80 km/h to 100 km/h, where speed signs permit. Previously, learner drivers were only allowed to travel at 100 km/h when accompanied by a motor driving instructor, in a clearly marked driving school vehicle fitted with dual brakes. 
• Provisional (P1 and P2) drivers under 25 years of age were restricted from driving high-powered cars including vehicles with engines of 8 or more cylinders; turbocharged or supercharged engines (except diesel powered vehicles), vehicles that have been modified to increase engine performance and a number of nominated high performance vehicles. 
• Tightening of curfew conditions for novice drivers returning from a serious disqualification, a penalty of two demerit points for failure to display L and P plates instead of licence disqualification and the offer of a Safer Driver Agreement option for disqualified provisional drivers.
  

The website MyLicence.sa.gov.au was developed to explain these rules, the stages of the GLS and road safety risks to new and young drivers.
These key measures were passed by Parliament on 1 December 2009 following an earlier change introduced on 31 August 2009, banning L and P1 drivers from using any type of mobile phone function while driving.

31 August 2009

Drivers with a learners permit or a P1 provisional licence were banned from using any type of mobile phone function while driving on 31 August 2009.

Research has shown that using a mobile phone while driving increases crash risk by at least four times.

Young and inexperienced drivers are at an even greater risk as they are still developing their driving capabilities are more liable to lose concentration and make mistakes when driving. They are also among the most frequent users of mobile phones and it is important that they avoid these risks when they get behind the wheel of a car.

The mobile phone ban includes:

• using hands-free mode including Bluetooth technology
• loud speaker operation 
• text messaging.

It is legal to make or receive calls and use any other function of any type of mobile phone if the car is parked safely but not stationary in a traffic queue or at traffic lights.

The mobile phone ban applies to anyone who is the holder of a learner’s permit or P1 licence and continues to apply until a provisional licence holder progresses to a P2 licence. Similar bans exist in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.

Penalties

L and P1 drivers who use any type of mobile phone function while driving face an on-the-spot fine and will incur demerit points.

If a driver incurs four or more demerit points while the holder of a learner’s permit or P1 licence they will be disqualified for a period of 6 months and may regress to a previous licence stage.

For more information go to http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/roadsafety/Safer_behaviours/road_safety_offences

2005 - 2006

A number of other initiatives were introduced during 2005 and 2006, including:

• 50 hours of supervised driving for Learner’s Permit drivers
• the provisional Licence phase split into P1 & P2 stages 
• a compulsory Hazard Perception Test (HPT) to go from P1 to P2 
• Driver Awareness Course (an option to go to P2 after 1 year on P1) 
• 12 months demerit free period (another option to go to P2 after 1 year on P1)
• regression to previous licence stage following disqualification 
• a curfew for drivers returning from a disqualification for a defined serious traffic offence.