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New rules for red P-platers
New road safety legislation for probationary drivers effective from 1 December 2024.
From 1 December 2024, red P-plate drivers in Western Australia will only be allowed to travel with one passenger in their vehicles at all times.
This applies to all current and future red P-plate drivers.
The new law, also known as 'Tom's Law', is aimed at reducing death and serious injury on Western Australian roads in the wake of several fatal crashes involving novice drivers in recent years. It also brings WA in line with other Australian jurisdictions.
On 27 October 2024, the State Government announced new road safety measures for probationary drivers to save lives. Further updates to this legislation are being introduced.
Summary of the new law
- The legislation applies to all existing and new red P-platers from 1st December 2024
- Red P-Plate passenger limits permit only one passenger in a car or on a motorbike at all times
- Exemptions may apply to have more than one passenger
- A fine of $200 and two demerit points will apply which is the same as the existing midnight to 5am curfew for Red P plate drivers.
Exemption to the new law
There are three exemptions to the passenger limit law which 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 (paid or unpaid). For this to apply, a letter from the driver's employer must be carried by the Red P-Plate driver for presentation on request. A Department of Transport letter template will be provided in due course.
Please note: You do not need to apply for these exemptions however, you will be required to show proof that you and your passengers meet these requirements.
The complete curfew on Red P-Plate driving between midnight and 5am will continue to apply. Find out more about driving on your P-plates.
Further initiatives to promote safer driving and save lives
Safe Driver Reward Program
The Safe Driver Reward Program for P-Plate drivers will be expanded to further incentivise safe driving over a longer period of three years.
Young drivers who have just passed their driving test are considered high-risk due to over confidence and inexperience.
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 (ie, 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.
Safer Driver Course
The Department of Transport will offer a pilot Safer Driver Course for up to 750 people under 25 years of age as an optional component of the existing Driver Access and Equity Program (DAEP).
The course aims to address the higher crash risk for young provisional drivers in their first six months.
Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.)
The 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 Daniel Campo, whose son Nick lost his life as a passenger in a serious road crash in July 2024.
Other actions
- The State 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.
- Review of existing learner and provisional driver schemes, and skills and training requirements for motorcycle and heavy vehicles licences
- A suite of new road safety measures to keep vulnerable novice drivers safe
Background to the changes
P-Plater restrictions were a key theme that emerged from a Road Safety Roundtable in August 2024, which heard from a diverse range of road safety experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of road trauma.
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 (The Western Australian Road Fatalities and Serious Injuries 2023 report).
Statistics and recent tragedies on our WA roads have 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 bring Western Australia into line with other jurisdictions.
The complete curfew on Red P-Plate driving between midnight and 5am will continue to apply.
The legislation is referred to as Tom's Law, after Tom Saffioti, 15, who was a passenger in a fatal crash in 2021. Since then, Tom's mother, Samantha, has been lobbying the government to make the changes in the hope that it will prevent other families from a similar experience.