Learner drivers of all ages taught a lesson

Queensland learner drivers of all ages have been warned they will have their licences immediately suspended if they are caught flouting the supervision rules which requires them to be accompanied by an adult who has held a current ‘open licence’ of the same class for at least a year.

The changes, introduced after brisbanetimes.com.au uncovered many of the state’s learner drivers reportedly ignore the law requiring them to be supervised by an instructor with an open licence, will apply to learner drivers operating any type of vehicle, and is expected to come into effect early next year.

An age breakdown released last month to brisbanetimes.com.au reportedly shows fewer than a third of the learners caught driving without the required supervisor were teenagers; revealing most fines were handed to those aged 20 years or older and 11 learner divers aged over 70 years of age were caught driving without the required supervisors since mid-last year.

Learner drivers begin their life on the road with four demerit points, which means they can be busted breaking the supervision rules up to four times before they face a loss of licence, brisbanetimes.com.au reports.

Transport Minister, Annastacia Palaszczuk, backs the policy change saying, “if your licence is suspended then you have waived your right to drive and you could delay the date that you apply for a provisional licence”.

“Let’s be clear – under these new rules, if you’re a learner driver and you choose to drive unaccompanied, then you’re choosing to lose your learner licence,” she says in a statement.