By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS and DANIEL TRAN
ABOUT 100 aspiring P-platers are failing their 120-hour logbook checks at Dandenong’s licence testing centre each year.
VicRoads data shows that 96 P-plate applicants had their logbooks rejected at the VicRoads Dandenong office in 2010-11, down from 100 in the previous financial year.
The applicants failed because they had not completed the required 120 hours of supervised driving experience or their logbooks contained errors.
None of the rejected applicants were found to have intentionally “fudged” their logbooks. Had they done so, they could have faced a fine of more than $1000 or up to two months’ jail.
The owner of Darshan Driving School, who wanted to be identified as Swamy, estimated that “one or two” learners would be fudging their hours but most were compliant.
He often had to change the cocky attitudes of young drivers and correct bad habits such as neglecting to check their mirrors or blind spots.
“They have to understand what is the reality. They’re overconfident and think they’re ready to drive before they’ve had a lesson.
“You start asking them questions while they’re driving and then they start to make mistakes.
“Mobile phones should be 100 per cent banned in the car. Even when drivers don’t answer their ringing mobile phone, [their attention gets] diverted.”
VicRoads customer services director Glen Medeira said learner drivers with an average of 120 hours of driving experience under supervision were 30 per cent less likely to crash than those with about 50 hours.
He said fatality rates for young drivers (18-25) were reducing at a faster rate than other drivers since the state’s graduated licensing system began. Last year, 32 young people died behind the wheel, the lowest number since statistics began in 1987.
“Extensive research shows that there is no substitute for experience behind the wheel in developing drivers who understand and respond to potential risks on the road,” Mr Medeira said.
“Learners who have not adequately prepared for the test by obtaining at least 120 hours of on-road driving experience in a variety of conditions are more likely to fail.”
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