A Dungog driver educator is calling for mandatory driving tests in city locations for rural-based L platers.
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The call comes from former Dungog Council road safety officer Allen Shrimpton who said more country kids are having accidents in heavily populated locations like Maitland and Newcastle because they haven't had the practical driving experience in city locations.
Mr Shrimpton said many young motorists from locations like Dungog have had no experience with traffic lights or negotiating busy city intersections.
He said some country drivers are being seriously injured or killed because they don't have that big city driving experience.
Mr Shrimpton, who is currently running the driver education program Drive4Survival at Dungog, wants inner-city driving experience as part of the Learner Driver curriculum.
"For a large portion of the Dungog community their first crashes will be in cities turning right at traffic lights," he said.
"Thirty per cent of P-plate fatal crashes are [happening] turning right in front of oncoming traffic and over 50 per cent of Dungog P-plate crashes are just that," he said. "There are no traffic lights in Dungog."
Drive4Survival is a course for parents and their Learner driver children. It has real people telling real stories about their car accident experiences - some stories devastating.
"I like to have real people tell their stories because they have the biggest impact. I've had two 16-year-olds get up and hug someone because they felt so emotional about how their life had changed as a result of the course. You don't get to see 16-year-old boys do that often," Mr Shrimpton said.
He said that statistically the other big risks for drivers in Dungog is driving when fatigued and speeding.
But one of the most common forms of accidents in regional areas is coming off the road and then over-correcting to return to the road, losing control and crashing.
"They come off onto the gravel and come back too quickly," he said. "Thirty per cent of road crashes are caused by that," he said.
The Drive4Survival course consists of weekly evening sessions at Dungog SES station. It started on Wednesday, May 1 but Mr Shrimpton said he is happy to take new starters from Wednesday, May 8.
"It's crucial that parents and children both learn together about road safety," he said.
He also highlighted the importance of letting learners learn, rather than just driving for them.
"You have to gradually let them find their own way," he said.
The weekly course continues through until Wednesday, May 22.
For more information contact Allen Shrimpton at 0438 922 091 or visit the Drive4Survival Facebook page.
