Licence win: Kellyville High School students Lucy Claxton and Deyyan Jafar both welcome the new learner driver requirements. Picture: Gene Ramirez
The pressure on parents to teach their children to drive is about to ease with new changes announced by Roads Minister Duncan Gay last Tuesday.
From July 1, learner drivers will be allowed to travel 90km/h — 10km/h faster than they travel now — and they will also have the option of reducing their supervised driving hours from 120 to 80.
The time spent behind the wheel will be reduced by 40 hours in exchange for 10 hours of professional lessons and a safe driver course.
What do you think of the changes? Will they make our roads less safe? Tell us below.
Deyyan Jafar, 17, at Kellyville High School, is learning how to drive and must log 120 hours of supervised driving under the current learner driver requirements.
Deyyan said the current requirements were "tedious".
"I think 120 hours is way too long and I welcome this new law which takes hours down from 120 to 80," he said. "Your parents have to sit with you for 120 hours and for them to find that much time, even if they give you a whole year, it's still a lot."
Lucy Claxton, 15, also at Kellyville High School, will take her learner driver's licence exam in September.
Lucy said the new learner requirements would make obtaining a provisional licence much easier.
"I think the experience is good but 120 is really hard to get done," she said.
"I have had two older brothers who have both got their Ps now and they have both struggled to complete the 120 hours.
"Both my parents are teachers and so they are home later and finishing stuff at school and they don't have a lot of time."
The safe drivers' course, available from July 1, will involve theoretical and practical coaching.
Lucy said she may attend the course.
"Although parents have had a lifetime of driving, they might not be up-to-date with all the new rules," she said.
"If I'm learning how to drive, my parents might forget and teach me old habits.
"If you are completing lessons you are learning the right way."