Facts about the rules for L and P drivers.
Details of the laws are available here.
A number of exemptions will be available for both the passenger and night-time driving restrictions. For more information go to GLS exemptions.
To save lives. Young drivers continue to be over-represented in the road toll. Drivers and riders aged 16-19 are being killed and seriously injured on our roads at more than twice the rate of those aged 25 and above.
Young drivers at the P1 stage are at increased risk of a crash during their first year of driving unsupervised. This is not simply because of risk-taking behaviour, but also due to the inexperience of the driver. For instance, new drivers are still developing their ability to detect, accurately identify and quickly respond to risks or hazards while driving, and significant experience is needed before these skills improve and crash risk decreases.
For more information read THE FACTS.
No. These restrictions only apply to P1 licence holders under the age of 25 years for the duration of their P1 licence, which is a minimum period of 12 months.
For more information read about THE NEW RULES.
Night-time driving and passenger restrictions apply to all P1 licence holders under the age of 25 years, regardless of the class of vehicle.
The night-time driving restriction also applies to all learner motorcyclists aged under 25 years regardless of other licences held.
For more information read about THE NEW RULES.
Yes. These laws bring South Australia in line with other States. Victoria, Queensland and NSW all have a form of passenger restriction for P1 drivers and Western Australia has a night driving restriction for P1 drivers. States including Tasmania, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT already have a longer provisional licensing period than South Australia.
They could be your mum or dad or someone else that has held a full driver's licence for at least two years without disqualification. They must sit in the front passenger seat and meet drug and alcohol laws as if they are driving. (E.g. no drugs and no BAC or 0.05 or more.)
You do not need to apply for an exemption but you must be able to satisfy police that you meet the exemption criteria. You may wish to ask your employer or activity organiser for a note or letter confirming your need to carry passengers for work or to participate in an activity late at night. For more information go to EXEMPTIONS.
For the purpose of peer passenger restrictions for P1 provisional licence holders, a peer passenger aged 16 to 20 is an immediate family member if they are one of the following.
Your brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, step-parent, guardian, step-grandparent, spouse, domestic partner, child or a person related to you according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.
The changes are based on international research into the graduated licensing schemes (GLS) operating in the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. While research recognises the place of driver training and experience in a young driver's development, it has shown that a combination of GLS initiatives such as the night and passenger restrictions is likely to make a greater and more lasting contribution to young driver safety than expanding practical driver training programs.
Studies conducted over the last 35 years have also found that driver training courses that attempt to impart advanced skills such as skid control to novice drivers can result in the driver becoming overconfident, contributing to an increased crash risk.
An ability to perceive hazards is key to safe driving, and this is not easily taught in a controlled environment. The purpose of the GLS is to allow drivers to gradually accumulate safe driving experience in more demanding driving situations. The introduction of passenger and night driving restrictions are aimed at reducing risks for our least experienced drivers.
Yes. Submissions from members of the community are always sought and the feedback shapes any proposed laws.
The government's YourSAy website is an example of how feedback is gained from the South Australian community.
No. The minimum age for obtaining a provisional licence will remain at 17 years.
It is important to recognise that delaying the age of obtaining a provisional licence has significant safety benefits and this should be considered by young drivers and their parents and caregivers.
No. The minimum age for obtaining a Learner's Permit will remain at 16 years.
No. The minimum time to hold a learner's permit will remain at one year.
No. The current minimum requirement of 75 supervised driving hours will stay the same.
The changes are aimed at protecting young drivers and passengers and are not intended to make life tougher. However, acquiring a driver's licence is one of the riskiest things people do in their lives.
Saving young people's lives must take precedence over concerns about mobility and inconvenience, particularly when passenger and night restrictions would apply only for 12 months.
Young drivers living in rural and regional communities will receive a proportionately greater safety benefit as a result of these changes as young drivers aged 16 to 19 years living in rural South Australia are 2½ times more likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash than their peers in metropolitan Adelaide.
Young South Australians are dying on our roads at greater rate than those in NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, Tas and ACT.
No. Exemptions are available for employment purposes which include driving to or from work or in the course of employment.
Police and emergency services members, both paid and volunteer, are exempt from the night driving and passenger restrictions while on duty.
For more information go to EXEMPTIONS.
Under the passenger restrictions, a P1 driver can carry immediate family members, as well as one peer passenger aged 16 to 20.
P1 drivers are also able to drive with more than one passenger aged 16 to 20, provided at least one of the passengers is acting as a Qualified Supervising Driver.
Passenger restrictions do not apply to drivers at the P2 stage and so they will not be affected by the restrictions, and may be able to assist with car pooling or agree to be a 'designated driver'.
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