27 July 2018

Government's proposed P-plate curfew receives backlash as Labor MLA calls curfews discriminatory

| Lachlan Roberts
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ACT Labor backbencher Chris Steel has called on ACT Road Safety Minister Shane Rattenbury to rule out curfews for P-plate drivers in the new licensing reforms, saying the proposed midnight-to-5 am curfew would discriminate against young Canberrans.

In a radical overhaul, the ACT Government plans to introduce laws that will only allow P-platers to drive with one passenger aged between 16 and 24 and will not be able to drive between midnight and 5 am during their first 12 months on the road.

Mr Rattenbury said the changes are aimed at saving lives, with 15 young drivers (aged 17-24) killed while driving on ACT roads between 2006 and 2017 – and five of those deaths occurring between midnight and 5 am.

But Mr Steel believes the Government’s proposed curfew on P-plate drivers would make young people “second class citizens.”

“I have heard from many young Canberrans that think that proposed P-plate restrictions unfairly restrict their right to move around our city,” Mr Steel said.

“Young people are standing up against the P-plate licencing changes which discriminate against them and their freedom of movement around our city.”

The Labor MLA said the ACT Government’s Your Plates: What we heard report revealed significant community concern about the proposed introduction of curfews for P-plate license holders.

A Government phone survey of 600 people across the ACT revealed that 50 per cent of people strongly disagreed with the proposed curfew, with only 40 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing.

“It is a well-known fact that young people go out at night, and we should not restrict them from driving at times when other forms of safe transport are limited,” Mr Steel said.

“We know that it is only a small minority of people that do the wrong thing, but all young drivers would be treated as second-class citizens by a P-plate curfew.”

The government also proposed exemptions to the curfew for people needing to travel to work or school in the early hours, but Mr Steel said that exemptions proposed to the curfew would do little to reduce the discriminatory effect of the reforms, and there were also other drawbacks.

“A curfew exemption scheme would be costly, bureaucratic and confusing for motorists and Police,” said Mr Steel.

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And what age is the Road Safety expert, Mr. Steel, who no doubt has the right to express an opinion on the subject, I just hope he has no influence whatsoever on the final decision. There would also be no age group less qualified to influence this decision than the group supposedly being discriminated against.

Chris Steel MLA2:18 pm 05 Aug 18

I’m not sure that at 32 I can be considered a young person anymore!

What kind of politician prioritises legal restrictions on law obiding young drivers ‘over and above’ creating affective legal restrictions on outlaw motorcycle gangs who are currently running amok in the outer suburbs of canberra?

Frankly, I see this as a lazy policy response not supported by the evidence. The Minister, if he holds the compelling evidence, should bring us along on his reform journey.

I will add that my look at the available evidence would suggest an emerging trend of older people being involved in injury crashes, and middle aged (mainly males) taking risks that are beyond their reflexes.

I suggest people contact their representatives in the Assembly and make their views known rather than making repetitive posts in forums such as this one.

I hope everyone has a safe day!

southsiderioter6:13 pm 02 Aug 18

If you look at the ACT accident statistics you will also find that just as many accidents happened in areas described as having poor or no street lighting as the number of accidents that involved P plate/young drivers. Simply improving street lighting would have as much an impact on accident statistics as a restrictive poly on younger drivers.

Some people seem surprised the Greens are running with this idea.
This is the same party who supported the point point and other speed camera systems keeping a record of all vehicles passing by – not just those speeding – thus effectively becoming a government surveillance system.

The Greens are a left wing, authoritarian party. This kind of move is hardly surprising.

The next generation of drivers will rightfully conclude that these new rules are illogical and restrictive, with no possible benefit to their safety as individuals, or to the safety of anyone else.

They will then apply this logic to the other road rules.

Make sensible laws that people can respect, not arbitrary and restrictive laws with no justifiable reasons behind them.

slow claps for the nanny state.

1. Teaches kids to break the law.

2. Forces young girls to ride alone with young men at night.
A young male with a licence can transport a number of women. This law will put women’s safety at risk, as they wont be able to ride with extra friends.

I’m afraid that you raise some good points.

There are so many other dangerous driving problems that are already illegal and not enforced by police. Why add another to the list. Focus on speeding, dangerous driving at intersections and roundabouts.

But most of all ACT Government, spend your money and effort to get some drug and alcohol testing out on the roads. I haven’t been breath tested in the ACT for years and I do over 25,000km a year.

There will be exceptions for young people that need to drive. As for those that don’t get that exception, but want to socialise and go places, they could do what I did when young. Although I held a driver’s licence (L plates at 16 and licence at 17), I couldn’t afford a car for a couple of years after I began work. No Mummy and Daddy spoilt me by giving me a car; after I left home at 18 and moved to Canberra I was an adult and adults buy their own car. So I saved up and didn’t have a car for a couple of years. Junior wages are not high. But I went out and socialised. I cycled, caught buses and the occasional taxi (usually shared with friends, because none of us earned a lot). All this complaining. Not having a car when young is not the end of the world. But maybe it’s because the young adults were driven to school, picked up from school, never cycled or walked to school as my generation did. Their parents also thought that normal. So after a couple of generations of doing this, gees, how can they get around without a car! Shock horror, can’t be done. Yes it can. May I suggest be an adult, stop complaining, start saving for a car, cycle, catch buses and share taxis with you friends. Then maybe you will discover that a car is not necessary to go everywhere.

I was expecting a comprehensive risk based approach to the road trauma problem from this Minister, but instead saw a narrow focus on a group without access to the ballot box. The response from Chris Steele, while ballsy, suffers from the same lack of evidence.

Young people can get higher rates on night shifts. This limits their earning potential. No more nighttime shopping or filling up petrol as they won’t be able to drive to and from work.

Another law copy pasted from NSW

“A curfew exemption scheme would be costly, bureaucratic and confusing for motorists and Police,” said Mr Steel.

Spot on. Imagine a young driver who doesn’t ordinarily drive in the curfew period, but has to leave home at 4am for a long drive in order to reach their destination on time. They would have to apply for an exemption and if granted they would still run the risk of being pulled over by police at the start of their journey, at which point the police would need to check that the exemption has been granted and recorded. Allowing for that possible delay would mean the driver would have to leave home at say 3.30am instead, cutting into their sleep and making the journey more dangerous. And what happens if the exemption hasn’t been recorded in the system properly? The driver gets hauled off to the station and charged, taking the police officer off the road for no reason. This policy is a thought bubble from Shane Rattenbury that Labor should have squashed long before now.

Hallelujah Chris Steel, you need to stand up to your party leaders when they make bad policy for your constituents, more often. Great work.

Certainly police should be targeting P Platers who don’t display good driving practices.

But to ban responsible young drivers because of irresponsible young drivers, is not fair and equatable.

Particularly responsible young drivers in the outer suburbs who don’t have public transport options at night or can’t afford a $70 Taxi into town or to evening work.

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