Young drivers are at the brunt of anomalies in road rules between NSW and Victoria that can leave them perplexed at the very least or fined at the worst.

Lavington P-plater Dani Sanderson, 18, highlighted differences last week and began a petition calling for the laws to be clarified.

One rule underlining the variations centres on how many 16 to 21 year-old passengers are allowed to be carried by a probationary driver.

In Victoria, a P1-licensee is not able to transport any 16 to 21 year-olds, while in NSW a P-plater can have them in the vehicle between 5am and 11pm.

South Albury teenager Aidan Gibbs was caught by the anomaly when he drove to Yarrawonga last week with three mates.

He was fined $466 for breaching Victoria’s passenger rules, having been told by the Roads and Maritime Services at the time he was issued with his licence to follow NSW motoring laws.

As any magistrate will tell you, ignorance is not a valid excuse to break the law.

But equally it is apparent there needs to be more understanding by the licensing authorities’ offices in Albury and Wodonga.

It should be made clear to young drivers that there are differences between states and you need to be conscious of them.

With motorists regularly criss-crossing over the Murray River our area’s P-platers are more vulnerable than most to these anomalies.

On a wider scale, there should be greater efforts made to achieve uniform road laws.

It is too easy for politicians in Sydney and Melbourne to ignore problems caused by anomalies because they are hundreds of kilometres away.

But Border state politicians Bill Tilley (Benambra, Victoria) and Greg Aplin (Albury, NSW) should be lobbying hard for change.

Mr Tilley plans to pursue the issue with cross border commissioners, whose job centres on harmonising regulations.

Mr Aplin has been silent in the latest debate, but as the deputy chairman of NSW Parliament’s road safety committee he has a crucial position allowing him to push for change.

The matter should be beyond politics and you would hope whether a minister is Labor, Liberal or National they can see the value in bringing commonsense to the cause.

They should be driven to succeed.