“You’re so used to having someone tell you what to do”: Experiences of young drivers during the Provisional licence phase

Objective: Young drivers are at considerable risk of injury and fatality during the earliest years of independent driving (provisional/intermediate/restricted/probationary licence). Interventions such as graduated driver licensing (GDL) are designed to ameliorate this risk by allowing young drivers to gain on-road driving experience under conditions of reduced risk (eg., night-time passenger restrictions in Queensland, Australia). Consistent with systems thinking, to maximise the effectiveness of interventions such as GDL it is essential that experiences of young drivers is understood. The aim of the research is to explore the experiences of young drivers with a provisional driver’s licence, within the current young driver road safety system in Queensland. Methods: Thirty-four drivers (17–18 years; mean = 17.6, mode = 17, 14 males) with a provisional licence attending two high schools (one public, n = 21, 9 males; one private) participated in a 45-minute group discussion during the school day. Results: Two themes emerged: (1) independence and (2) driving logistics. A wealth of experiences and advice pertaining to the sub-themes of psychosocial independence, transportation independence, driving skills and knowledge, interacting with other drivers, driving mistakes, and owning a vehicle were shared by young drivers. Numerous recommendations are made pertaining to each sub-theme, such as informing young drivers of the expense associated with independent mobility, effectively managing a road crash, and interacting safely with other drivers now there is no longer a driving supervisor sharing the journey with them. Conclusions: Importantly these findings apply to young drivers in all motorised jurisdictions, irrespective of whether they have implemented a graduated driver licensing program. The breadth of experiences – many of which placed the young driver at increased risk of harm – shared by the young drivers should be considered in refining the content and process not only of any novice licence phase during which independent driving occurs, such as the provisional phase, but also of the preceding learning-to-drive licence phase. To illustrate, greater exposure to driving hazards like driving with peer passengers and sharing the road with larger vehicles can be undertaken in circumstances of increased driving ‘independence’ (that is, under less direction) during the final stages of the learner licence. This pseudo-independent driving is an opportunity to develop skills and capabilities in the potentially-risky circumstances which the novice will soon traverse without a supervisor’s support