YOUNG drivers will spend an extra 18 months on training wheels and lose their hands-free mobiles under sweeping reforms to stop youth road carnage.
Mum's call to protect passengers
The measures aimed at L and P-platers will save 12 young lives every year and prevent 800 crashes, according to the State Government.
Time spent on learner and probation plates will stretch from 3.5 to 5 years for some drivers and even longer for those who break the law.
Reforms include:
A DOUBLING of the minimum L-plate period from six months to a year.
A NEW P1 and P2 two-stage probationary period lasting four years, up from three, and involving a minimum of 120 hours driver training.
ROAD offences instantly adding another six months to the probation period and sending P1 drivers back to the start of their 12-month training.
P-PLATERS nabbed with a blood alcohol reading to have breath interlocks fitted to their cars for at least six months.
EXTENDING the ban on mobile phones to hands-free phones for all P1 drivers.
LEARNERS will have to provide a log of 120 hours, signed off by parents or supervisors.
A TOUGHER driving test before drivers can obtain a full licence.
SUPERCHARGED and turbocharged cars and all hotted-up engines to join V8s on the forbidden list for P-platers.
The traditional red P plate will represent the P1 stage, with a white P on a green square for P2 drivers.
A P1 driver caught using a hands-free mobile will be slapped with three demerit points and a $140 fine.
Premier Steve Bracks said the reforms would save lives.
"This will save families from the devastation of losing a son or a daughter," he said.
But some teens were hostile to the changes.
Michael Brady, 19, of Macleod, labelled them ridiculous.
"I think people will be angry. Getting more time on probation in the first place is just stupid," he said.
"It should be harder to get your licence -- but once you've got it, you've got it and that's it.
"Targeting young drivers for no good reason is just crap and doesn't make it safer on the road for anyone."
But some road authorities were unhappy the changes did not go far enough, neglecting night driving curfews and bans on carrying more than one passenger.
The RACV praised the crackdown but was disappointed a ban on carrying more than one passenger was missing.
"We're not saying you can't carry grandma to the shops. The interesting thing is young people are telling us they want (passenger limits)," spokesman Dr Ken Ogden said.
The laws will be rolled out over the next two years.
