Monday, October 06, 2008

New Drivers

Traffic Police accident statistics for the past years reveal that newly qualified drivers with less than a year's driving experience are more prone to accidents.
Currently, new drivers must display their Probation (P) plate within the 12-month period after obtaining their driving licences. This requirement has been introduced to reduce the vulnerability of new Class 3 drivers to accidents.

However, I would like to point out the fact that some new drivers may only drive for the first time, few years after getting their driving licence as some of them may not purchase a car within a year after getting their licences. Would this group of drivers not be as vulnerable as the new drivers who drive within the 12-month period after obtaining their driving licenses?

New drivers, due to their inexperience on road, may also possess a certain risk to other road users including pedestrians. Thus I believe the requirement of having new drivers displaying their Probation (P) plate within the 12-month period should be similarly extended to buyers of cars who do not have much driving experience, e.g. first-time buyers of cars. Some verification checks could be carried out on buyers of cars on their driving experience prior to their purchases.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Is it illegal for drivers who had passed more than 12 months to put the p-plate ?

Singapore Short Stories said...

Hi Anonymous,

I do not think it is illegal.

It depends on when one obtains his driving licence.

Imagine if a man pass his driving test at age 25, only drives t age 30, does he need to put a P plate since it has been 5 yrs since he first passed his driving test?

I would think so. New drivers should put up P plates for a year once they start driving. My humble opinion, though the law is not clear on this.


I have heard some of the new drivers did that even after passing the driving test for more than 12 months.

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