Hi everyone, my name is Hanah. 

Today, I want to talk about something that I think should change in Victoria, and that is the age at which you can get your P-plates.  In Victoria, you have to be 18 to get your P-plates. I think this should be changed to 17. In most other states in Australia, you can get your P-plates when you’re 17. Victoria is one of the places where you have to wait until you’re 18. 

I don’t really understand why we have to wait an extra year when young people in other parts of Australia can get their P-plates at 17. By the time you turn 17, you can already have completed a lot of your driving hours. You will still have to complete your 120 hours, pass your learner permit test and pass your probationary licence test. So, it’s not like you can just get your licence without proving that you can drive safely. I’m not saying that the rules should be completely changed. We should still have to complete the required hours and pass all the driving tests. I just think the age should be the same as it is in most other parts of Australia. And this isn’t just an idea. 

Many 17-year-olds in Victoria have already completed the required 120 hours of driving before they turn 18. This includes 100 hours of day driving and 20 hours of night driving. In other parts of Australia, 17-year-olds can already get their P-plates. For example, in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, you can get your P-plates from the age of 17, as long as you complete the required driving hours, pass the tests and meet the other requirements. So, 17-year-olds are already trusted to drive independently in other states. I think Victoria should give 17-year-olds the same opportunity. 

If a 17-year-old in another state can complete their hours, pass their tests and get their P-plates, I don’t see why a 17-year-old in Victoria should automatically have to wait another year. What about the legal drinking age? You get your P-plates when you turn 18, and you can also legally drink when you turn 18. How well does that work out? By changing the age at which you can get your P-plates to 17, it could also reduce some cases of drink driving by giving young people more independence before they reach the legal drinking age. 

I understand that people have said that "some teenagers should not be getting their P-plates at the age of 17 because they may be" “too immature” or have a “lack of road knowledge”. But these statements don’t define every teenager in the whole state of Victoria. 

Thank you for listening.