Taming Novice Drivers

Road Safety Article

Who is a novice driver? In a clime like the United Kingdom, a novice driver is a person holding a driver’s licence for at least two (2) years or periods adding up to two (2) years. This may include a first time learner’s permit holder, the holder of a provisional driver’s licence, a driver from overseas who has not held a driver’s licence for at least two years or the holder of an extraordinary driver’s licence.

The UK classifies these into type 1 and 2; type 1 refers to a person from the time they are first issued with a learner’s permit. Once they are granted a provisional driver’s licence, they will continue to be novice driver type 1 for a period of at least one year or periods adding up to one year. Type 2 is a person who has held a driver’s licence for more than one (1) year but less than two (2) years.

GDL was introduced as   a scheme which places restrictions on new drivers. These restrictions include not being able to drive at night, or not driving with passengers under a certain age in the car. Its introduction has long been debated by the Government – most recently in 2020, following an inquiry by the Transport Committee. At the time, the Government said it was not progressing work on GDL.

After some hiccups, the Government is again re-considering the introduction of graduated driver licencing, two-and-a-half years after last distancing itself from the system. Recent report in The Sunday reveals that transport minister Richard Holden will consider GDL with road safety campaigners at a meeting on 16 May.

The scheme according to the report could be implemented via the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act. The Act imposes a probation period on new drivers who get their licence revoked if they get six penalty points within two years of passing.

Under the plan, drivers would not be allowed to carry passengers under 25 years-old in the first year or six months after passing their test. This is part of measures to checkmate deaths or serious injury on the roads and to improve road safety for all users. The broad approach to improving safety for new and novice drivers is through new technology and improving education, while reinforcing vital road safety messages

In most climes, Graduated license is in place to reduce the number of collisions, death and injuries among learner and novice drivers, particularly among the high risk 17 to 24 year olds, during the learning to drive period and period immediately after they pass their test. Research tells us that novice drivers are most likely to be killed on our roads in the first two years after passing their test due to their inexperience.

Therefore, these measures are designed to protect most vulnerable road-users so that they can become safe, competent and confident drivers, helping to ensure fewer collisions, fatalities and injuries are recorded. Harmful drinking among teens is a major concern in most countries. It reduces self-control and increases risky behaviours such as risky driving. It is a primary cause of injuries especially those due to road crashes.

Graduated driving license guards against these risky driving behaviour by setting minimum guidelines aimed at reducing drink/drugs driving behaviour among teens, especially ages 15 to 19 years old. Meanwhile, unintentional injuries according to the World Health Organisation, are a leading cause of death and disability among adolescents.

Young drivers therefore need counsel on safe and responsible driving while laws that prohibit driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs need to be strictly enforced. Blood alcohol levels for teenage drivers needs to be set lower which is why Graduated driving licence for novice drivers have zero tolerance for drink-driving behaviour.

Let me throw light on the Graduated drivers licence introduced by the Federal Road Safety Corps in 2007 as part of measures to restore the integrity of the driver licence. Before this novelty, the relevant traffic regulations such as the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2004, Section 22, sub 3-7 and section 23, 24, 25 and 26 provided for an applicant for the driver’s licence to meet the some conditions.

The first is that applicants must be 18 years and above, be physically and mentally fit, pass a driving test and pay the prescribed fee. After these, such an applicant will then qualify for a drivers licence valid for three years. However, in the face of the spate of road crashes in the country and the need to conceptualise new ideas in keeping within global best practice, the Corps through the driving school standardisation programme made it mandatory for fresh applicants to attend certified and approved driving school.

The three stage Graduated driver’s licence is the first in the country and an improvement from what had existed before now. It is broken into three parts; the first part is the pre adult (18-25) years category. Those within this group after complying with the relevant tests and other procedures as stated in the quoted sections, if found suitable, are issued with a class B driver’s licence that is renewed after every year.

The second is the adult (26-64) years category which is renewed every three (3) or five (5) years. Only applicants within this category are qualified to apply for a commercial driver’s licence.

However, for such applicants who already possess a class B (private) to qualify for a commercial driver’s licence, they must belong to a transport union, attend a driving school and pass a medical test at a government hospital.

The last category is the post adult meant for people between the age of 65 years and above. Like the pre adult category, this group’s driver’s licence is renewed every year after proof of medical fitness.So what is the standard in other climes.

In Canada, Motor Vehicles provincial regulations vary by province. In British Columbia, following the instructional phase and after passing a road test, new drivers are required to show a green N (novice) plate until they have passed an additional road test usually after 24 months.

In British Columbia a red L (for learner) plate is required for 12 months before the N can be issued, and new drivers with this marking are not permitted to drive without a licensed driver over the age of 25 present in the vehicle.

In the case of France, after passing their driving test, learners must display on plate (for apprentice) for three years, two years for those who learned with their parents.

Let us x-ray the scheme in the State of California in the United States. Graduated driver licensing provides teens a plank to maturing as fully licensed drivers. Unlike Nigeria, there are no Federal or National Graduated driver licensing. Each state has its own programme specifying minimum age requirements for teens to qualify for each level of licensing

California is my favourite state in the US for several reasons but I won’t bore you with my preference for California even though it ranks as my most visited State. California Graduated Driver License (GDL) law dates as far back as 1997.The law limits when a teen may drive and who he or she can ride with. I am not sure ours contain these specific provisions although it is meant to be a given in all climes.

Again I need to remind you of the purpose of the programme. Basically, the purpose of GDL is to cut down on the number of teen car crashes and the number of teens who are injured or killed in California each year. Teen car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens. Let me now break down the various states starting with stage one which is the learners permit. The requirement for this stage is that the teen must be at least 15 years and 6 months old.

Just like I stated earlier, the teen may drive only with adults aged 25 or older. The teen must complete driver education and must have had 50 hours of driving practice, including 10 at night. The permit when issues must be held for at least six months. During this stage, no alcohol is permitted in vehicles.

Stage two is the provisional license and requires that the teen must be between 16 and 18 years old.

Unlike stage one, stage two is a bit accommodating as the teen may drive with no adult present. However, no passengers under age 20 for the first 12 months, unless a driver 25 or older is present. The stage forbids driving between 11 a.m. and 5 a.m. for the first 12 months, with exceptions. Permit must be held for at least 12 months or until age 18 and no alcohol permitted in vehicle.

The last stage is the full license which requires that the teen must be eighteen and has completed stages one and two for the proper amount of time and has no outstanding DMV or court-ordered restrictions or, suspensions, or probations on driving record. Also at this stage, no alcohol; open, closed or partially removed is permitted in the vehicle. Even with a full license, the teen driver cannot drive between midnight and 5am or transport young passengers without an adult in the car. These limits last for one year.

To further curtain excesses and risks driving behaviour prevalent among teens, since 2008, teens were barred from using a cell phone even with headset or any other mobile service device while driving for those under 18 years. This is illegal. Any infraction with respect to these GDL rules will delay the teen getting his license for at least a year and lead to traffic violations that will show on his record.

While these schemes are meant to checkmate or reduce road traffic crashes involving teens, parents have a crucial role to play in moulding the behavioural pattern of their teens. The flexibility in the case of the State of California is that parents or guardians have the right to cancel teens’ permits or licence at any time for any reason.