A $466 chunk of money saved by Aidan Gibbs over summer holidays has been thrown away on a fine because he was told the wrong road rules when crossing the border into Victoria.
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The 17-year-old from South Albury and three friends chose to deal with the heat last week by taking a drive to the aquazone@lakemulwala water park in Yarrawonga.
They embarked on the hour-long trip via the Murray Valley Highway, but were stopped in the main street of Yarrawonga by a police officer on a motorbike.
What they were doing was legal in NSW, but in Victoria, probationary drivers are only allowed one passenger between 16 and 21 years old.
“He asked if we knew about the laws that we were supposed to follow in Victoria, and we said we didn’t,” Mr Gibbs said.
“I actually thought I was supposed to follow the NSW rules.”
Roads and Maritime Services advises drivers to obey the rules of their NSW licence when travelling interstate, so young people on P plates – like Mr Gibbs – have been following instructions.
Meanwhile Victorian police have instructions to enforce their own state’s road rules, regardless where the driver is licensed.
Mr Gibbs said he had never heard of others his age being punished for driving with too many peer passengers in Victoria until the point he was handed a $466 fine with three demerit points.
He was about to head into year 12 at school and had been working at the Bended Elbow part-time to save some money for an important year ahead.
“It’s just going to blow into that now,” he said.
The teenager said he will try to plead his case for leniency and agreed with NSW laws to have peer passenger restrictions only at night between 11pm and 5am.
“I reckon the one in NSW is good because the real danger of doing stupid stuff is at night,” Mr Gibbs said.
His fine comes after The Border Mail spoke to Lavington teenager Dani Sanderson, who called on the two states to agree on laws because young drivers were getting different messages either side of the border.
Her comments led Benambra MLA Bill Tilley to suggest the NSW government bring its laws into line with Victoria.
VicRoads has also stuck to its position – road user and vehicle access director Robyn Seymour said the laws applied to all novice drivers.
“Interstate driver licence and learner permit holders must comply with the Victorian road rules, as well as any restrictions and conditions imposed on their licence by their home jurisdiction,” she said.
“We want all young drivers to be safe on our roads.”