In NSW, you start on L plates. To get a Learner Licence ($22), you first have to pass an eyesight test (you can read a car number-plate at 10m with or without corrective lenses), and a computer-administered multiple-choice "theory" exam ($40 per attempt) based on the Driver's Handbook ($12), but since you can download the questions and take
practice exams on-line, this is not a significant challenge.
L-platers cannot drive legally without being accompanied by a fully-licensed driver in the passenger seat. They must record not less than 120 hours of supervised driving, including at least 20 hours at night, in a log-book counter-signed by the accompanying fully-licensed driver. There are commercial off-road training courses that count as forty log-book hours, if you can afford the roughly $150 fee, and one hour of tuition from a licensed driving-instructor ($?) counts as three log-book hours. L-plate drivers must not exceed 80kph on roads with a higher speed-limit, must not exceed a zero blood-alcohol level (there are other restrictions, but these are the main ones), and only have four "points" on their licence. When drivers believe they are ready, they take the practical driving test ($50 per attempt). If they pass, they move on to a P1 Provisional Licence ($52).
On
P1 plates, you can drive unaccompanied, and the maximum speed limit rises to 90kph, but are otherwise subject to much the same restrictions as an L-plater. After a year on P1 plates a driver must pass a computer-administered "
hazard perception test" ($40 per attempt) to move on to
P2 licence and plates ($80), which lift the maximum speed-limit to 100kph and boost you to seven "points" on your licence. P2 plates last a minimum of one year, but can last longer because the RTA will not issue a full licence until you have held some form of driver's licence (L and P together) for a minimum of four years. P-platers are subject to
many restrictions on the type of vehicles they may drive, how many passengers they can carry, and the times of day they may carry them.
Finally, the driver moves on to a full licence ($52, $122 or $162 for 1, 3 or 5 years) with twelve "points", no speed-restrictions other than the posted limit for the road, and a 0.05mg/l blood-alcohol limit.
This
Graduated Licensing Scheme is massively freighted with middle-class assumptions about easy access to vehicles, and willing, committed fully-licensed "supervising drivers" (usually family members) who must ride with the trainees until they graduate to P1 plates. Better start early, and hope you come from the sort of stable, supportive, fairly prosperous family environment the legislators assumed you do. Good luck if your circumstances differ from their rosy fantasies. And need I mention that holding at least a Provisional Licence is a requirement for many jobs? I am
so glad I just squeaked in under the old system where you could get a full licence in as little as 18 months rather than the current minimum of four years.
It is now easier and quicker in New South Wales to achieve independent mobility with a motorcycle licence than a car licence. To get mobile on a motorbike:
- Take 7 hours of "pre-licence training" ($83). This is held off public roads at approved training tracks, which also provide the necessary bikes, helmets and gloves. Assuming you pass the course, you are issued with a Pre-Learner Certificate of Competence.
- Take your certificate to the RTA, take the eyesight test, and sit the computer-administered "theory exam" ($40 per attempt). It is the same as the test for a car licence (so you can be asked about fitting baby-seats...), plus thirty motorcycle-specific questions. If you pass, you are issued your L-plates and Learner Licence ($22), valid for 12 months.
- The clock is now ticking. You have 12 months to get a learner-approved bike, helmet etc., develop your skills, and pass the next step, the pre-provisional course and test. If you fail to do this, you go right back to square one and restart the process at pre-licence training. You must spend a minimum of three months on L-plates before you're allowed to take the pre-provisional course, but beyond that there is no monitoring of your experience, no log book, and no need for a supervising driver.
- Take the 6-hour pre-provisional training course, and pass the Motorcycle Operator Skill Test at the end of it ($124 + $50 per attempt).
- Go back to the RTA and obtain your P1 Licence and plates ($52).
- Ride on your P1s for 12 months, your P2s ($80) for 24 months, stay out of trouble, and the RTA will issue you with a shiny silver full licence.
- Ride your motorbike until you are 25 years old, and then "upgrade" to a car licence. You will be exempt from the minimum experience and log book requirements.
As you can see, you will be independently mobile from the beginning, can be fully licensed in a minimum of 39 months instead of 48, and the minimum time on L-plates is a
lot easier to achieve. I guess the NSW government thinks that kids are safer on motorbikes and scooter than in cars...