If you’re a learner driver and you’re looking to take your driving test, you may be wondering what rules you need to follow while you learn to drive and record hours in your log book. Find out some of the most important rules that apply to drivers with a learner licence below!
For learner drivers from a state or country outside of New South Wales, there are some things to note depending on whether or not they have a provisional licence, full licence, international driving permit, or heavy vehicle licence.
Those travelling interstate or completing a road trip with a learner licence may continue to learn to drive in NSW. These learner drivers must be supervised at all times by someone holding a full Australian driver licence of class C or higher.
It’s critically important to understand p plate passenger laws as you begin to learn to drive. The Graduated Licensing Scheme, or GLS, is the process that you must follow in order to get your full licence – and through this process, there are a number of different plate restrictions that are put in place that have to do with your ability to travel with passengers, depending on whether you have green p plates or red p plates.
P plate laws may seem quite confusing, but once you understand they are quite easy to follow along with the general road rules.
It’s believed that safer limits can help build the confidence of young drivers. These limits include certain vehicle types, laws against using mobile phones while in the car, speed limit restrictions, and even the number of passengers you can have. Additionally, drink driving or driving high remains illegal and highly penalised.
When it comes to learning how to drive, something that you may face is making the choice between driving an automatic car or a manual car.
Getting your manual licence is much the same as getting your automatic licence, except that you will be learning to drive and taking your test on an automatic transmission car. Be sure to specify whether or not you’re looking to learn on a manual or automatic car. This will determine whether or not you should be driving an automatic car or driving a manual car.
While manual transmission cars – also known as stick-shift cars – used to be something of a rite of passage, automatic cars have largely monopolized the road. Automatic tends to be the most popular car driven, and in most cases learner drivers will both learn on and take their driving test with an automatic car.
However, in some cases, people will want to drive manual cars. If that’s you, there’s no need to worry – you can absolutely learn how to drive manual cars!
Driving laws have been updated in the last year (2019), as part of the NSW roads Road Safety Plan 2021. This most specifically targets drink driving offences, which can be incredibly serious.
It’s also important to know that it is an offence if you refuse to take a test. There are a number of penalties depending on the range offence, which can include loss of licence, spot fines, a requirement to install an alcohol interlock device, and even prison terms.
Your driving lessons can be an exciting time in your life! You’re taking the next step towards getting your proficiency licence, which will open up a whole world of freedom and responsibility.
When it comes to your driving lessons – especially your first every driving lesson – you may have a number of questions about what will happen, what to expect, how you should conduct yourself, and how you should prepare.
Sometimes, even the most experienced drivers may need what’s called a refresher driving course in order to help them with safely navigating the road.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a refresher driving course – in fact, it can be really helpful when it comes to mitigating the risk of crash, and can help unsteady drivers with their skill and confidence level!
Once you’ve gone through your first driving lesson, you’re probably more comfortable with what to expect from your lessons overall. Now that you’ve met your instructor or instructors and have likely had more private practice, you may also feel more comfortable talking to them and asking any questions you may have.
Your driving instructors will have taken ample notes during your first driving lesson, and will know where you may be having difficulty or may need work on certain driving practices.
While you must log at least 120 hours of supervised driving by law, including at least 20 hours of driving at night, there is no specific rule about how many lessons you’ll need to pass.
However, it does greatly depend on your comfort on the road. It’s estimated that those drivers who increase supervised on-road experience with a driving instructor end up doing better in the practical driving test, and tend to reduce their crash risk by 30% in the first two years of driving!