New laws which will see red P-plate drivers restricted to just one passenger are set to come into effect on December 1 in a bid to reduce death and serious injuries on Western Australian roads.
According to the Western Australian Road Fatalities and Serious Injuries 2023 report, young drivers aged 17-19 have the highest rate for those killed or seriously injured in traffic accidents.
The new one-person passenger restriction will be called Tom's Law, in honour of Tom Saffioti who was a passenger in a car being driven by a P-plater when it crashed and killed the 15-year-old in 2021.
"Every death on our roads is a tragedy, and we know our least experienced drivers are particularly vulnerable when they get behind the wheel," Premier Roger Cook said.
"P-Plater restrictions were a key theme that emerged from last month's Road Safety Roundtable, which heard from a diverse range of road safety experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of road trauma.
"Limiting passengers for novice drivers in the first six months after they attain their licence is a practical, sensible and enforceable step that strikes the right balance to protect young drivers, their families and their friends."
Exemptions from the rule will only apply if additional passengers have held an ordinary C-class licence for at least four years, other passengers are immediate family members or if additional passengers are in the vehicle as a necessary requirement of the driver's employment.
The penalty for breaching Red P-Plate passenger restrictions is a $200 fine and two demerit points.
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