KRISTIN 17 years old City driver Got her P1 licence in   November 2005

JACQUES 17 years old Country driver Got his P1 licence in   January 2006

OPEN ROAD: Congratulations on getting your Ps – how does it feel?
KRISTIN: It’s very exciting. To get your card and photograph, and something you’ve been working towards for a year. Unfortunately, I can’t drive anywhere at the moment. My parents had a V8 car but, with the restrictions on P-platers driving powerful cars, they had to sell it. They kept it while I was learning as they thought it was a safe car for me to learn in. But I’m hoping to get a loan from my parents and buy my own car.
JACQUES: I was so keen. Since I was 16 I wanted to get my Ls. When I got them I was real keen on getting my Ps. I needed it heaps, like going into town for football training. It puts heaps of pressure on Mum and Nanny having to drive us into town and back.

OR: What does having a licence mean to you?
KRISTIN:That I’ve succeeded, that I have a skill and that I have independence. It also helps that I don’t have to wait for trains that are always late.
JACQUES: Freedom to go anywhere you want, the fact that you can go anywhere at any time. I live 20km out of town and there are no buses or public transport because the town’s not big enough. The only way I can get into town without driving is the school bus.

OR: Was the test harder/easier than you thought? Should it be harder/easier?
KRISTIN: There’s so much hype about the test. At school everyone talks about it. They say “if you go even a little bit over the speed limit they fail you” and “the instructors are really tough”. So I was really nervous. But the test instructor was really nice. We followed a planned route that I think they take everyone on and they follow everything that’s in the Learner Driver’s Log Book. I got my licence first go but a few friends didn’t. They said they were so nervous and made silly mistakes, which is a reflection of inexperience and lack of confidence.
JACQUES: I always thought the driving test would be easier than the knowledge test, but I had two professional lessons so I was pretty prepared; it wasn’t hard. My mum taught me how to drive. She let me drive any time she went into town so I could get my hours up. The driving test isn’t easy but I don’t think it needs to be harder because you’re under pressure anyway when you go for your test and you get so nervous.

OR: NRMA recently added driver simulators to its Safer Driver Education Centre for learners to use – would you have used them?
KRISTIN: That would have been fantastic. When you get on the road for the first time you have no idea of what to do and the cars look like they’re coming at you. The simulator would have been really good and helped with my confidence before getting out on the road.
JACQUES: It sounds cool. I suppose it would help people whose parents can’t take them driving. I know heaps of people who would use it.

It all looks so easy, but when you get behind the wheel yourself for the first time, it’s really hard.

OR: Did you take professional lessons?
KRISTIN: I did 35 hours with my dad and then did the HART’s advanced driver course. It was great, they picked up and fixed the little things I was doing wrong.
JACQUES: I asked my mates who had their Ps should I do lessons and they said I won’t pass unless I do.
I know people who have gone without a lesson and they’ve failed and they go for a lesson and they pass. [Driving schools] tell you exactly what to do and most people don’t read the road user’s book. You don’t know the little things like checking blindspots and how long you have to indicate for, but they teach you that in a lesson. They even take you the same way the test goes and show you the spots where they test you.

OR: What was it like driving for the first time, ie. as a learner? How did other motorists treat you? And what about as a P-plater?
KRISTIN: At first, when I had trouble staying in the lane so I was going really slowly, there were a lot of impatient people who would go past me, even if it was only a one way [each way] road. It really unnerves you and it’s scary because you think everyone else obeys the road rules but they don’t, which surprised me, they just rush past you. That happened all the time. No one tooted at me and it wasn’t like they were angry, they just wanted to get in front.
JACQUES:Because I live out of town there’s not many people on our road so you don’t need to take it that easy. I don’t know if I’m a confident or cautious driver, I’m not really gung-ho. I suppose I’m a fairly [aware driver].

OR: What is driving like – is it harder or easier than you thought it would be?
KRISTIN: When you’re young you watch your parents and it all looks so easy, but when you get behind the wheel yourself for the first time, it’s really hard. You don’t know how much pressure to put on the pedal and your perception of where you are in the lane is really mixed up. It was much harder than I thought.
JACQUES: The hardest part living in a country town was that you don’t have many obstacles like stop signs and traffic lights, or many places to reverse park, so I had to do lessons in the next town.

OR: What kind of car do you want to buy?
KRISTIN: One that goes! Safety is important to me, and my parents wouldn’t let me buy an unsafe car, so I guess a car that goes but is safe.
JACQUES: I own a BMW319i, but I’m saving up to get it registered so I drive my grandma’s car, a Toyota Hilux Surf 4WD. My dream car is a 1966 Mustang.  I love ’em.

OR: NRMA is offering free membership to 17–18 year olds as part of the Free2go program. Will you join?
KRISTIN: Definitely. I’ve seen when my parents have broken down in some really awkward places how important it is to belong. I think it’s really cool NRMA is offering free memberships [for 17-18 year olds].
JACQUES: I signed up for Free2go the other week. My mum’s an NRMA Member and she wanted me to join just in case anything happened. It’s heaps good. I just went on the NRMA website, went to the latest offers and filled in the details. It was easy.

OR: Where do you drive to the most? Work? School? Socially?
KRISTIN: Socially. Everything else – school, shops, uni (when I go) – are close to train stations so I’ll probably drive only when I go to parties.
Especially with petrol prices so high, there are so many of my friends who are on their Ps who won’t drive now if there’s a train or public transport near where they want to go. They don’t even drive to school anymore; petrol’s just too expensive.
JACQUES: In and out of town, and to football training twice a week. I take my four-year-old sister to daycare in the mornings on the way to school.
I also drive to school as much as I can because it takes an hour on the bus but it only takes me 25 minutes to drive.

You think everyone else obeys the rules but they don’t, which surprised me.

OR:Young drivers are over represented in car crashes. Why do you think that is?
KRISTIN: It’s a confidence thing. It seems like people expect you to do stupid things; it’s like they automatically think [because you’re a P-plater] you’re going to speed and break the rules. It’s like they think you’re going to crash every second.
JACQUES: I suppose it’s lack of experience. Most P-platers wouldn’t know what to do if they were in a crash or if another driver did something stupid.

OR: There have been proposals about putting more restrictions on P-platers such as night curfews and passenger restrictions. What’s your opinion?
KRISTIN: It’s not [so] much that people are being reckless, although some are, it’s just that they don’t have the experience. A few friends have had minor crashes and it’s because they expected the other driver to do the right thing. So it’s more a matter of more practise so you get experience and can react properly when other people don’t do the right thing.
At parties, everyone has a designated driver and that driver just doesn’t drink. [Having said that], one of my friends was in a car crash recently as she was drunk and driving with her boyfriend in the car coming back from a party.
So for some it’s recklessness but for most it’s inexperience. I also think part of the problem is this idea that teenagers believe they are invincible, that they are young and just having fun. Nothing very bad had happened to my friend before, so she had no reason to expect that she would lose control of the car and crash. She now has to go to court and everything, and she has had a bit of a rude awakening.
With restricting passengers, I don’t think that’s a bad idea if it’s say after 11pm, because the passengers could be drunk and that would be distracting. But with curfews, I think people will just take the Ps off the car because it would be too much of an inconvenience.
They really need to focus on mobile phones – everyone I know talks on them or sends SMSs while they’re driving and it’s dangerous.
JACQUES: They’ve got the right idea there [banning P-platers driving powerful cars]. People are still going to crash if their cars aren’t fast, but turbo cars and V8s are faster and more dangerous so it’s probably better that they don’t drive them. I don’t think night curfews and passenger restrictions are good, especially passenger restrictions. 
When you’re on your Ps you’ve got heaps of mates in the car with you so people would just break the rules. There’s enough restrictions on P-platers already; you’re not allowed over 90km/h on your red Ps and 100km/h on your green Ps. But none of my friends drink drive. If we’re going to a party, we’ll go there and drink but stay the night. People here are real strict on drink driving when their kids have a party.

OR: What about driver education in schools – should kids be taught at a young age?
KRISTIN: My school had driver’s ed since Year 8 – there was a big focus on drink driving and the dangers. But you can’t really explain that to anyone who isn’t yet a driver. It wasn’t until I got behind the wheel that it meant anything because then I had to watch the lights and the lanes and I saw how difficult it all was. They also spoke about speeding and they gave us lots of stats. I think they did that to try and scare us a bit.
JACQUES: It would be good to have it at the age of 16 when you start to get your Ls. It should be something the school makes them do.

OR: What do you think should be done to make driving safer for young people?
KRISTIN: I don’t think anything can be done in the testing because everyone’s generally on their best behaviour and once they’ve got their licence, they’ll do what they like. The stats we got on speeding and drink driving helped a lot, more than those ads on TV. I think those NRMA simulators are a good idea – you’d get to see your reactions to certain situations and how to deal with them before you get out on the road, and it would be really good practice.
JACQUES: I don’t reckon any more restrictions need to be put in place. There’s heaps of pressure to get your Ps and you’ve got to be aware of all the restrictions; the best way they could stop P-platers crashing would be more education through schools.

To sign-up for free membership for 17-18 year olds or for details on the Free2go campaign, visit www.befree2go.com.au or call 13 11 22. For details about NRMA’s Driver Simulator and onroad lessons for learner drivers, call 1300 696 762.