Graduated driver licensing (also known as GDL) systems are designed to provide new drivers with experience and skills gradually over time, reducing the risk of serious injury or death.
In traditional driver licensing systems, new drivers typically progress through three stages:
learner's permit probationary or provisional license full driver's license.
GDL systems often impose restrictions on nighttime driving, expressway usage, and unsupervised driving. However, these restrictions are typically lifted over time and with additional testing, eventually concluding with the individual obtaining a full driver's license.
Overview Acquiring a learner's permit typically requires meeting a minimum age requirement and passing vision and written knowledge tests. These tests usually assess the participant's knowledge of the rules of the road, hypothetical situations (e.g. junctions, speed limits, traffic signs, etc.), and hazard awareness while on the road. Parental or legal guardian permission may be required for applicants below a specified age. Learner's permit holders must typically drive under the supervision of a qualified licensed driver. They must remain free from both alcohol and drugs while driving, and they may be subject to speed limits and road restrictions. There may also be limits imposed on the number of passengers in the vehicle, and learner drivers may be required to be free of moving violations and at-fault accidents or crashes for a minimum period before moving to the next stage. In many jurisdictions, vehicles operated by learning drivers are required to display adequate signage to indicate supervised driving training. Learner drivers may also be required to complete a logbook of their driving experience, which must be certified or countersigned by a supervising driver or driver trainer.
The transition from a learner's license to an intermediate, provisional, or probationary license typically requires a minimum age and usually requires the learner driver to pass an on-road driving test, although in some jurisdictions there may be alternative licensing paths offered involving a continuous process of competency-based training and assessment under the guidance and instruction of an accredited driver trainer.
Those who receive an intermediate, provisional or probationary license may drive without supervision, although driving at certain times (typically after midnight until around sunrise) and driving with passengers in the vehicle may require the presence of a supervising driver who is fully licensed. Drivers typically must remain free of moving violations and at-fault accidents for a specified period of time. In some places, drivers with these licenses must have no alcohol or other drugs in their blood while they are driving and may be restricted to certain maximum speeds and from using mobile phones. In some jurisdictions, an intermediate, provisional, or probationary driver is required to display a P sign on the outside of the vehicle to indicate to other road users and police of their license status (and hence of restrictions that may apply).
Receipt of a full driver's license typically requires a specific minimum age, a minimum time period of driving experience, and may require the passing of a final road test of driving skills or the passing of a hazard perception test.
The first graduated driver licensing systems involving a learner licensing phase, an intermediate provisional or probationary licensing phase, and full licensing were developed in New South Wales, Australia in 1966.
The advocacy of graduated driver licensing in North America is associated with Professor Patricia Waller of the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center and later the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, commencing in the 1970s.
North American graduated driver licensing systems emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s (and were heavily influenced by a revamped graduated licensing system introduced in New Zealand in the 1980s, itself based on Waller's writings), and have now been adopted in almost all US and Canadian jurisdictions. These systems place particular emphasis on passenger restrictions and night-time driving curfews for young drivers.
In contrast, the approach of European graduated driver licensing systems places much greater emphasis on the training experiences of learner drivers before solo driving, with a lesser focus on license restrictions at the intermediate, provisional, or probationary licensing phase. Young drivers in European graduated driver licensing systems are typically older, as minimum licensing ages are older than most other countries. As well, most learner driver experience is obtained through professional driving instructors rather than through ad hoc supervision.
The Australian approaches to graduated driver licensing reflect and extend the thinking underpinning the North American and European approaches, combining restrictions on young drivers with intensive training requirements but also adding significant enforcement (zero-tolerance for speeding, driving while impaired by alcohol or other drugs, and the use of mobile phones by young drivers) and penalty components (particularly the suspension of a driver's license for offenses, the impounding of motor vehicles, and opportunities to attend traffic offender intervention programs as part of the penalty process). As in Europe, minimum licensing ages in Australian graduated driver licensing systems are older than in the North American graduated driver licensing systems, and most learner drivers in Australia also receive driver training from professional driving instructors as well as practice under informal driving supervision. Critical features of the Australian graduated driver licensing systems are the mandatory display of L and P plates on the front and back of vehicles driven by learner drivers and provisionally licensed drivers, and the compulsory carriage of a driver's license which facilitates police identification of young drivers and their vehicles.
Graduated licensing and insurance The automobile insurance industry generally supports graduated licensing. However, some youth rights advocates have accused insurance companies of charging premiums to new and young drivers in GDL jurisdictions that are not substantially less than premiums in non-GDL jurisdictions, even though graduated licensing supposedly reduces the risk of accidents. This issue is generally restricted to jurisdictions with private auto insurance. Most state-run automobile insurance schemes do not discriminate on account of age or driving experience.
Africa South Africa
In South Africa, a time-based graduated licensing system is used. To attain a full driving license, an individual must first obtain a learner's license. The individual must be 16 to obtain a motorcycle learner's license; 17 years old to be able to attain a learner's license to operate a light motor vehicle, and 18 years old to be able to attain a learner's license to operate a heavy-duty motor vehicle. Once the learner's license is issued, the individual has two years to attain their full license. It is recommended that learner drivers secure the assistance of a qualified, professional driving instructor.
There are three different categories of learner licenses: Code 1: motorcycles with or without a sidecar Code 2: motor vehicles (except motorcycles) with gross vehicle mass of or less Code 3: all vehicles (except motorcycles) with a gross vehicle mass exceeding 3500 kg, drivers will need to be 18 years of age or older
Asia Hong Kong
Hong Kong uses a graduated licensing system regardless of the driver's age. A new license of private cars (1), minivans (2) and motorcycles (3) uses provisional license system called Probationary Driving license, while the others have extra requirements upon licensing.
However, drivers already having No. 2 licenses for at least 3 years, with no less than two years of non-provisional driving license, may be exempted from the probation or No.1 license (but not vice versa).
Driver on probation must comply with a 12-month minimum restricted period. They must comply the following rule while driving on the respected vehicles Placing a proper white plate with red letter "P" in the front and rear of the vehicle The speed limit is or the road's speed limit, lower if applicable Cannot drive in the overtaking lane on highways Cannot carry passengers (for motorcyclists only)
The probation period will be extended for 6 months if mild driving regulations are violated, and the probation license voided for severe violations or two mild violations. This rule also applies while driving on vehicles not on probation.
For the licenses other than 1, 2, or 3, the applicant must comply all of the requirements below upon application, which are: Over the age of 21 Is a Hong Kong permanent resident, or not subjected to any condition of stay Have been driven in Hong Kong or recognized area for 3 years for cars or minivans, and should have no less than 2 years for non-provisional driving license Have no designated traffic offence record for past 5 years Are fulfilled with other extra requirements, if any.
Europe
France
There is an early driver training program in France known as Conduite Accompagnée (Accompanied Driving or Learner's Permit ()), allowing drivers from the age of 15 to drive accompanied after having passed the General Theory test (nicknamed "code").
Germany
In Germany, there are two elements of the graduated driver licensing scheme: At the age of 17, a new driver is allowed to drive accompanied by an experienced driver. The persons who are allowed to accompany the driver, typically the parents, are listed in the preliminary license. When the driver turns 18, the normal license is sent to the driver without any additional tests. The German term is "Begleitetes Fahren". Within the first two years of holding the license, there is a zero tolerance alcohol limit and a stricter penalization of traffic rule violations. Some violations will extend the probation time to four years. The German term is "Führerschein auf Probe"
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, one may apply for a provisional driver's license from the age of 15 years 9 months, provided one is a legal resident of Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, legal residents can apply for their provisional from 16 years and 10 months. There is no requirement to sit a theory test before applying for a license. Residents in Northern Ireland must apply through a separate system. Those holding a provisional driving license are permitted to learn to drive a car from the age of seventeen years, and sixteen years for a moped or light quad bike.
Holders of a provisional license must be supervised by someone who is over 21 and has held their full license for over 3 years. Provisional license holders in Northern Ireland must not exceed 45 mph. When a learner is driving a car, they must display a red "L" plate on the front and rear of the vehicle (or a "D" plate in Wales). Learner drivers of cars (but not motorcycles) may drive on motorways in Great Britain only when with an Approved Driving Instructor.
To progress to holding a full license, a driver must pass a multiple choice theory test on the Highway Code and a video Hazard Perception Test, both of which are taken on a computer under strict examination conditions. Once they have passed both of these tests, the driver can schedule a practical driving test and must pass this in order to be awarded a full license. There is no minimum hours requirement for learning to drive, nor a minimum time to hold a license. Once a learner has passed their driving test, they can drive unaccompanied on public roads. There is no probationary period for new drivers in Great Britain, but this is presently under debate and may change in the future.