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A handful of road safety experts in the Australian state of New South Wales argue that men should be banned from driving until they are 21.
The proposal has been submitted to the New South Wales government and argues that more needs to be done to reduce road deaths by paying greater attention to young drivers, especially young men.
Emeritus Professor and Chair of the Australiasian College of Road Safety, Ann Williamson, notes that drivers under the age of 25 in New South Wales are responsible for nearly 25 per cent of accidents, despite only 15 per cent of drivers in the state being responsible . She says more needs to be done to reduce crashes by imposing more restrictions on young drivers.
Also Read: Victorian Government Offers Money to Young Drivers to Replace Their Old Cars
“Especially the first six months of licensing, people are very vulnerable to crashes,” Williamson said the guard. “It’s not that road authorities and policy makers aren’t aware and there are some restrictions for inexperienced and novice young drivers… but it’s not enough. It is clearly not enough.”
“Undoubtedly some young novice drivers will be better than others. If we can identify those who are likely to be inherently riskier and limit their licenses, do that a little later,” Williamson added. “Young men, maybe they have to be 21 or 22 before they get their license. these are all things to think about.”
Professor Rebecca Ivers of the University of NSW and an expert on injury prevention and management believes that a gender approach should influence policy and regulation.
“Men have been overrepresented in injury since pretty much the time we could crawl,” Ivers said. “It’s no different with driving and I think we understand more and more that we really need to put a gender lens on that. They tend to take more risks. We have to start saying ‘why is that and how can we do something about it?’”
There is no indication that the New South Wales government is seriously considering such a major change to its licensing system. However, NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet has sought advice on limiting the number of passengers in a car with a young driver while on their limited ‘P-plate’ license.
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