Learner-friendly driving region still has its lousy attitudes

A STUDY conducted by driving lesson booking platform EzLicence has ranked Greater Bendigo as Australia’s most learner-friendly region (81.43/100), ahead of Greater Geelong (80.65) and Canberra (79.42).

The study combined real-world data with practical factors that directly impact the cost, accessibility and success of learning to drive, analysing more than 100 of the most populous localities in Australia.

Greater Bendigo stood out for its road simplicity, helped by the presence of just 14 enforcement cameras (fewer than one per 100 square kilometres).

The study reported learners also benefit in areas where roads are predictable, speed limits are moderate and crash rates are low, categories in which Bendigo performs well.

Local learners are also supported by affordable lesson costs ($74.84 per hour average) and solid monthly instructor availability (almost three hours per 10,000 young residents).

The test pass rate in Greater Bendigo sits at 67.7 per cent, more than two thirds of all applicants.

EzLicence’s sales manager Ross Rivalland said Bendigo’s conditions mean “learners can practise more regularly without feeling overwhelmed, which often leads to faster progress and higher test pass rates”.

One local supervised driving program co-ordinator has a different opinion, however, offering her “on-the-road” take.

Denise Sibenaler from the Salvation Army’s Bendigo TAC L2P program, which helps young people without access to a supervising driver or vehicle gain their 120 hours of required driving experience, countered that “there’s a lot of poor driving behavior out there in the community”.

“When you’re in the car with a learner, for some reason other drivers seem to think they’ve got to speed past, they’ve got to sit right up your rear, or they’ve got to try and push you along because you’re not going fast enough,” she said.

“It’s incredibly impatient and rude – there’s no consideration for these young people.”

Ms Sibenaler said the ultimate scenario in Bendigo would be a change in attitude towards learners to complement our “most learner-friendly” status.

“It’s all about having good roadcraft and being polite,” she opined. “It’d just be nice to see other drivers be more considerate.

“Learners are doing just that – they’re learning, they’re going to make mistakes.

“When I see a learner I back right off, I give them their space until they can complete whatever manoeuvre they’re doing.

“So please be kind and remember that you were once learning to drive as well.”