New road safety measures for probationary drivers to save lives

• Red P-plate passenger restrictions to permit only one passenger in a car at all times
• Expansion of Safe Driver Reward Scheme to incentivise safe driving
• Safe Driving Course Pilot Program for learner drivers under 25 years of age
• Expansion of P.A.R.T.Y. injury prevention program to enable regional students to understand the traumatic consequences of road crashes and make safer choices
• Review of existing learner and provisional driver schemes, and skills and training requirements for motorcycle and heavy vehicles licences
• Suite of new road safety measures to keep vulnerable novice drivers safe

Red P-plate drivers will be limited to carrying only one passenger in their vehicles at all times as part of new rules being introduced by the Cook Labor Government to reduce death and serious injury on Western Australian roads.

Young WA drivers aged 17-19 have the highest KSI (Killed or Seriously Injured) rate at 107 per 100,000 population compared to other age groups (Western Australian Road Fatalities and Serious Injuries 2023 report).

Statistics and recent tragedies on our roads have also shown that novice drivers are at higher risk of crashing when they are distracted. 

The new one-person passenger restriction aims to alleviate this problem and also bring Western Australia into line with other jurisdictions. A complete curfew on red P-plate driving between midnight and 5am will continue to apply.

Exemptions from the passenger restrictions rule will only apply if:

• the additional passenger(s) is an experienced driver who has held an ordinary C-class licence for at least four years; or
• other passengers are immediate family members; or
• if additional passengers are in the vehicle as a necessary requirement of the driver's employment. For this to apply, a letter from the driver's employer must be carried by the red P-plate driver for presentation on request.

The penalty for breaching red P-plate passenger restrictions is a $200 fine and two demerit points, which is the same as for driving during the existing red P-plate curfew.

The new restriction will apply for all existing and future red P-plate drivers from 1 December 2024, following the tragic deaths of young people on WA roads, including passengers Tom Saffioti and Nick Campo.

To encourage safe driving, and instil preventative driving habits early on, the Safe Driver Reward Scheme for P-plate drivers will be expanded to further incentivise safe driving over a longer period of three years.

Currently, if P-plate drivers remain demerit-point-free during their two-year probationary period, they are rewarded with a free full licence for one year.

Under the expanded pilot program, drivers who remain demerit-point-free for a further year (i.e. a total of three consecutive years of demerit-free driving), will be rewarded with up to a $100 discount off their next driver's licence renewal either as:

• a $100 discount off a 5-year licence (currently $163.50); or
• a one-year licence free (currently $46.85).

The expanded incentive is designed to encourage safe driving over a longer period and deter young inexperienced drivers from taking risks when their probationary period ends.

Young drivers who have just passed their driving test are considered high-risk due to over confidence and inexperience. 

Among other initiatives, the Department of Transport will offer a pilot Safe Driving Course for up to 750 people under 25 years of age as an optional component of the existing Driver Access and Equity Program. The course aims to address the higher crash risk for young provisional drivers in their first six months.

Additional opportunities for young people to interact with those who have experienced road trauma will also be introduced as part of the suite of new measures.

The Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) Program, which provides opportunities for students to understand the trauma associated with road crashes through WA hospitals, will be extended to regional students.

A program is also being developed to allow for road crash survivors and their families to share their experience with sporting clubs, schools and other community groups with cohorts of young drivers. This will be run alongside similar programs already being undertaken by Nick Campo's father, Daniel.

Separately, the Government will commission a comprehensive review into the existing learner and provisional driver licensing schemes, as well as skills and training requirements for motorcycle and heavy vehicle licences.

The review will consider the latest research and best practice experience from other Australian jurisdictions, including the use of improved hazard perception training, additional safe driving courses, instructor training and accreditation, penalties and first aid courses.

It will also examine the feasibility of a more comprehensive approach to skills-based graduation through the range of licence categories for motorcycles and heavy vehicles.

Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:

"Every death on our roads is a tragedy, and we know our least experienced drivers are particularly vulnerable when they get behind the wheel.

"P-plater restrictions were a key theme that emerged from last month's Road Safety Roundtable, which heard from a diverse range of road safety experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of road trauma.

"Limiting passengers for novice drivers in the first six months after they attain their licence is a practical, sensible and enforceable step that strikes the right balance to protect young drivers, their families and their friends.

"I also want to commend the majority of new drivers who do the right thing, with expanded incentives on offer to reward safe driving over a longer period of three years.

"The new changes, referred to as Tom's Law, will mean WA has some of the most targeted restrictions in the country when it comes to keeping P-plate drivers safe.

"These latest education and enforcement initiatives highlight my Government's commitment to road safety and eagerness to seek new ways to prevent death and serious injury on our roads."

Comments attributed to Road Safety Minister David Michael:

"Every life lost on our roads is one too many and the repercussions are devasting for the families and loved ones left behind. Knowing many of these crashes are preventable is even more disturbing. 

"The new rules mean Western Australia will have some of the strictest rules for passenger limits on probationary drivers in Australia.

"Since the Road Safety Roundtable, the Cook Government has announced an extra $32.5 million over the next four years to boost regional road safety and launched the hard-hitting Speeding Shatters Your Excuses advertising campaign, which targets young people who are over-represented in crash statistics.

"These new initiatives, which include the Safe Driving Course Pilot Program for learner drivers and the expansion of the successful P.A.R.T.Y. Program, further strengthen our focus on young people, targeting them even before they learn to drive and get their licences.

"The expansion of the Safe Driver Reward Scheme provides a further incentive for novice drivers to drive safely even after they secure their full licence."

Comments attributed to Police Minister Paul Papalia:

"There are more police officers on Western Australia's roads than ever before, and they will be out in force ensuring young people are complying with the law.

"Operation Regional Influence will see an additional 8,000 extra hours of road patrols, a fleet of 44 high-visibility highway patrol cars and two new alcohol and drug testing buses boosting regional road safety.

"Serious crashes not only shatter families but also scar our first responders who see the devastation and have the incredibly difficult job of notifying loved ones about tragedies."