No longer would learner drivers have to lug around their worn logbooks with a proposed alternative from the NSW government.
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Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey has announced a six-week trial for learner drivers to test four apps – Licence Ready, Learner Journey, Ezy Log and L2P.
The apps use GPS technology to track trips and kilometres driven and are able to confirm the time of the day journeys are taken.
The user and supervisor are required to enter details into the app and for the purposes of the trial they must also manually complete their logbook.
Albury driving instructor Christine Hill said she was interested to hear more about the apps.
“Currently, they put in start and finish odometer readings, where they travel to and from and road and weather conditions,” she said.
“Not everyone can afford a smartphone … more phones get lost than logbooks, I would imagine.”
Ms Hill, who took over as owner of AAA Open Road Driving School last year, said logbooks meant illegitimate entries could be detected reasonably simply.
“You can really tell when someone has done all 120 hours, compared to someone who has added in some hours,” she said.
“I one day said to someone, ‘Did you go driving this morning?’, and she said ‘No’.
“I thought 6am was early to go driving and she didn’t have any idea the person who was helping her had written that in.
“You know when something recorded in a logbook is not right.”
NSW Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon said the smartphone trial would be open to 100 learners in select areas.
“A limited number of L-Plate drivers in the Castle Hill area of Sydney and in the regional NSW area of Maitland are being offered the opportunity to take part in a trial of four different apps which perform the function of the Learner Driver logbook,” he said.
“If the customer trial is successful the apps are expected to be rolled out more widely later this year.”
The trial comes as the Victorian government announced on Wednesday the Transport Accident Commission and Museums Victoria would be engaged to create a world-first Road Safety Education Complex.
More than 20,000 secondary students are expected to visit the complex in its first year starting mid-2018, and a regional outreach program will also be developed to cater for students who are unable to access the resource in Melbourne.
TAC research shows young drivers aged 18 to 25 accounted for 21 per cent of fatalities last year.
