Your ability to control the vehicle is assessed by the way you handle the tasks involved.
OPERATING THE CONTROLS
Some of the driving tasks that the testing officer will observe and record are
listed here:
Adjust driver’s seat posture and steering column (if adjustable) to ensure you have good control of the vehicle.
Operate accelerator smoothly when accelerating and decelerating.
Operate brakes smoothly and effectively.
Coordinate clutch and gear lever to make smooth gear changes.
Select appropriate gear for the situation including when coming to a stop and parking the car.
Avoid over-revving on take off and gear changes.
Driver’s seat belt is correctly fastened, fitted and adjusted (low, flat and firm).
Apply a brake when starting the vehicle.
Prevent rolling back when starting on hills.
Use park brake correctly when preparing to secure the vehicle and ensure it is fully released when driving.
Steer with both hands on the steering wheel (except when using another control), using either ‘hand-over-hand’ or ‘pull-push’ method with hands on the outside of the steering wheel.
Use other controls such as indicators, windscreen wipers and demisters.
You must be confident in your use of all controls and be able to operate them without being distracted.
You must be aged 17 years or over to get a NSW driver licence.
If you hold an overseas licence to drive or ride (including a learner licence) and want to get a NSW licence, you must go to a registry or service centre and:
• If your licence is in English, present your overseas licence.
• If your overseas licence is not written in English, provide:
– Your overseas licence and an official translation from the NSW Community
Relations Commission or the Commonwealth Department of Immigration
and Citizenship (DIAC).
– Where extra licence information is required (for example, about the first issue
date or the validity period of the licence or where the type of vehicle authorised
to be driven or ridden is not shown) a letter from a relevant consulate or diplomatic office.
• If you cannot produce your overseas licence, provide:
– A letter from the overseas licence issuing authority confirming your licence
details and status, or,
– A letter from a relevant consulate or diplomatic office, based on information
received from the overseas licence issuing authority, confirming your licence
details and status.
Any letter provided to confirm licence details or status should be in English or
have an official English translation as described above.
Before you first attend the registry or service centre, you may wish to obtain a
letter from the driver licence issuing authority (on its letterhead), or from your
relevant consulate or diplomatic office, confirming your licence details, including
the first issue date.
You must also:
• Prove your NSW address.
• Prove your identity.
• Pass an eyesight test.
• Pass a knowledge test for each class of licence required.
• Pass a driving test for each class of licence required.
• Provide documents proving the first issue date of your licence, if it is not displayed on the licence. If you fail the driving test, your visiting driver privileges will be withdrawn.
To continue driving in NSW you must then get a learner licence that will allow you to
drive (while supervised by a person who has an Australian full licence) and then go
for another driving test.
RECORDING OVERSEAS LICENCES
Under Australian licensing laws only one licence can be used for driving in
Australia. Before a NSW licence will be issued, you must present your overseas
licence so that the details can be verified and recorded. Your overseas licence will
be returned to you unmarked.
EXEMPTIONS FROM TESTS
You may be exempt from some tests if:
• You have, within the last five years, held an Australian driver licence which can
be verified by the issuing authority, or,
• You hold a current New Zealand driver licence, or,
• You are applying for a Class C (car), or,
• Class R (rider) licence and you hold a current overseas rider licence, or one that
expired within the past five years, from a country recognised as having comparable
licensing standards to Australia.
Note: Roads & Maritime reserves the right to require a driving or riding test. A licence may not be issued unless Roads & Maritime is satisfied that the overseas licence is valid.
WHAT NSW LICENCE YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR
The length of time you have held an overseas car or rider licence will determine
the type of licence that you are eligible to hold.
• If you have held your overseas car or rider licence for less than
one year, you will only be eligible for a P1 licence.
• If you have held a car or rider licence for more than one year but less than
three years, you will only be eligible for a P2 licence.
• If you have held a driver or rider licence for more than three years,
you will be eligible for a full licence.
To apply for a class of licence other than one you already hold, you must pass the
appropriate knowledge test and driving test (taken in a vehicle of that class).
TEMPORARY OVERSEAS VISITING DRIVERS
From 18 April 2008, new licensing rules apply to visiting drivers who want to obtain a NSW licence for the first time.
Information for visiting drivers can be found on our website or in the brochure
Guide for international drivers.
DISABLED DRIVERS
When you apply for a licence, you must state whether your disability could affect
your driving. Roads & Maritime will assess your disability as having either a minor
or serious effect on your driving ability. If a disability is considered serious, a
disability driving test has to be taken. Conditions can be placed on your licence, for
example ‘may only drive vehicle with automatic transmission’.
DRIVERS WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS
You must advise Roads & Maritime if you have a medical condition that could
affect your driving, such as epilepsy.
You are required to give details when you complete an application form, or contact Roads & Maritime should you develop a condition while already holding a licence.
For some medical conditions you will need regular medical examinations to make
sure you are fit to drive. Your doctor should have received a copy of the national
medical guidelines for assessing fitness to drive a motor vehicle. Roads & Maritime
will send a medical report form to be completed by a doctor whenever you are due
for an examination. The completed report must be returned to Roads & Maritime.
Roads & Maritime may suspend or cancel your licence if information is available that proves you should not be driving. For example, a doctor may report that a patient does not meet the medical standards and is no longer fit to drive.
NSW DRIVING LICENCE RESTRICTIONS FOR P1 LICENCES
Automatic You are restricted to driving an automatic vehicles transmission vehicle if tested in one.
Blood Alcohol Your BAC must be zero.
This means your Concentration (BAC) cannot have any alcohol in your system when you
drive a vehicle.
Demerit points Your licence will be suspended if you incur 4 or more points.
Display of P signs P signs (red P on a white background) must be clearly displayed on the front and back of the exterior of the vehicle.
Licence class You cannot learn to drive for a higher class licence.
Mobile phone You must not use any function of a mobile phone, including loudspeaker devices when driving.
Passengers P1 drivers under 25 years of age are restricted to carrying one passenger under 21 years of age between 11pm and 5am.
Seatbelts You must ensure all occupants are properly seated and restrained by seatbelts or approved restraints.
Speed limit You must not drive faster than 90 km/h and must observe the speed limit where it is below 90 km/h.
Your licence will be suspended for at least three months for any speeding offence.
Supervising a learner You must not supervise a learner driver.
Towing You are allowed to tow light trailers up to 250 kilograms unloaded weight.
Vehicles You must not drive any vehicle with:
• Eight or more cylinders, (diesel powered engines exempt)
• A turbocharged or supercharged engine (diesel powered engines exempt).
• Modifications that increase engine performance.
• Any other vehicle identified by Roads and Maritime
– details available on Roads and Maritime website.
Please note exemptions may apply.
Make sure you are prepared to take your driving test.
Learning Content
Review each learning goal carefully to make sure you can achieve each one
Get a copy of The Guide to the Driving Test and familiarise yourself with the test requirments.
Book your driving test and make sure you have all of the relevant paper work you need
Make sure you have correctly filled out the log book and will have thr required hours by the time you do your test, including at least 20 hours night driving.
Facts and Tips
You can book your test in person at the RTA/RMS or call 13 22 13 or online.
Make sure your car is fully roadworthy – tyres, lights, mirrors etc before you present for your driving test.
Learning Goal
Gain experience driving in complex and busy city traffic and motorway environments
Learning Content
Driving in the city – busy commercial centres
Driving on motorways including –
Using tool booths, e-tags etc
Using on and off ramps
Driving in tunnels
Following direction signs
Electronic signs – variable speed limit signs
Low risk driving on freeways including increased following distance for speed and avoiding blindspots of other drivers
Facts and Tips
Learner drivers must not drive faster than 90 Km/h and must observe the speed limit where it is below 90 Km/h
Take advantage of situations like family holidays to get some experience driving on motorways
Driving on various road surfaces { sealed and unsealed }
Road rules, signs and traffic marking not previously encountered, for example, narrow bridge, railway and stock crossings
Using overtaking lanes
Applying low risk driving in rural environments { managing speed, position, decisions and responding to hazards }
Driver fatigue
Sharing the road with heavy vehicles
Risk of encountering wildlife when driving at dawn or dusk
Facts and Tips
Take advantage of situations like family holidays to get some experience on country roads.
Remember to share the driving. As this is a new experience greater levels of fatigue may be experienced, so change drivers more often.
Learning Content
Gain experience driving in adverse conditions such as wet weather, fog, snow and ice
Learning Content
Review use of windscreen wipers and demisters
Give extra attention to road surface conditions
Increase following distance from three seconds to four or more
Reduced visibility
Reduced tyre grip requires smoother acceleration, braking and cornering
Increased oberservation of pedestrians required
Increased crash avoidance space required to respond to hazards so set up earlier
Reduce speed to repond to the changing conditions
Facts and Tips
A common crash for provisional drivers is to leave the road on a curve. This can occur in wet weather when tyre grip is reduced. Take extra care when driving on wet roads
Avoiding headlight glare from another vehicles, use of anti glare mirror adjustment
Reducing speed when vision is reduced
Facts and Tips
Night driving is a high risk time for provisional driver crashes. Gaining experience now will reduce the risk of a crash in the future.
Fog lights may only be used in situations with limited vision { fog, rain, smoke} . You must turn fog lights off once conditions improve.
