Teenagers at Wodonga High School have pitched their case to politicians considering lowering Victoria’s legal driving age to 17.
Speaking directly to the parliamentary inquiry
members who will make a recommendation on the issue, students said the change would help them access work, sport and not be forced to rely on parents.
Jack Beer and Thomas Pascoe wanted to leave school to start trade apprenticeships, but as 16 and 17-year-olds without a driver’s licence, no one would hire them.
“You can’t always rely on buses to get around,” Jack said.
“I’m stuck at school doing the same thing.”
Shaquile Singh will still be 17 when he starts university, which he hopes will be in Melbourne, but still wanted to visit family in Wodonga.
“If I got my Ps earlier I could go to Melbourne and come back home – it would just be easier,” he said.
The teens were confident they could still complete the required 120 hours of experience as a learner driver in one year.
They argued having a year of driving before they could legally drink would make them more responsible.
Benambra MLA Bill Tilley said as a member of the committee he was considering the case of Spencer Botting, the teenager who was killed in a crash last year as a passenger in a car driven by a 17-year-old Wodonga boy with a NSW licence.
Upper house MP Fiona Patten said the committee was considering an exemption for some teenagers to drive to get to work or school.
“It wouldn’t be for every 17-year-old, it would be for a limited number – employee sponsored or education sponsored,” she said.
Wodonga Chamber of Commerce business manager Bernie Squire told the inquiry that was “a great idea”.
He supported a national licencing system, but also proposed allowing an exemption of 50 kilometres from NSW into Victoria to help solve the cross-border issue of younger teenagers being allowed to drive in NSW.
“There’s some frustration with state governments making metropolitan decisions,” Mr Squire said.
Chamber of Commerce members found the biggest issue with employing disengaged youths was they easily gave up on hard work, but Mr Squire said a driver’s licence would not change anything.
“You’d just be putting a licence into the hands of a small percentage that wouldn’t be ready at 17 and probably wouldn’t be ready at 25,” he said.
Source: The Border Mail, 4 Oct 2016
By Shana Morgan
