Drivers renewing their licences might have their road rule knowledge tested as the Queensland government aims to strengthen safety measures across the state.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey has met with stakeholders and says the government is considering a range of new measures including a “refresher course” for people renewing their licences due to changes in road rules between renewals.
“There’s often a lot of changes to road rules between getting a licence say five years ago and renewing it,” he told ABC Radio Brisbane on Monday.
Similar to courses available for learner and new drivers, Mr Bailey said the measures could replicate their online pool of questions and bring drivers up to speed on changes to road rules.
“One example of that might be: we brought in a whole lot of new measures about personal mobility devices,” he said.
“It’s not designed to be some big onerous test that everyone’s going to have to spend lots of time on.
“It’s designed to be a refresher course, that people would look to do in an easy online way, that gives you a good review of what’s happened in the last four or five years since you got your licence last time.”
The government is floating the idea and seeking feedback from the community.
Mr Bailey said it was one of the topics addressed by a road safety roundtable earlier this year.
Drivers caught exceeding speed limits by 40km/h or more could have their licences immediately suspended under suggested changes.
Mr Bailey said suspensions can take up to three weeks to occur for drivers caught in this category.
“Getting that kind of a driver off the road as quickly as possible I think it would be a positive measure,” he said.
The government on Monday also announced their ‘Ride to Zero’ to address motorcycle safety.
Motorcycle riders make up five per cent of Queensland’s road users but contributed to a quarter of the state’s road toll last year.
Mr Bailey said it was deeply concerning to see 74 motorcycle deaths on the state’s roads in 12 months.
“We’re working with the motorcycling community, clubs in particular around increasing safety there,” he said.
“We want to see a lot more mentoring of new riders for instance, so that the skill level increases as quickly as possible and the culture of safety around motorcycle riding improves as well.”
– AAP
