South Australian driving instructors are fighting back against proposed laws designed to reduce corruption and sexual harassment in the industry, saying they will make it harder for people with a disability to get a licence.
The state government introduced a bill to reform driver training laws last month that would see practical driving tests undertaken by government examiners rather than private operators, as is the case in all other states and territories apart from the Northern Territory.
It means the work of 250 private examiners would be done by 40 government employees.
The move comes after an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption report that found bribery was “prevalent” in the industry, with drivers asking for money to pass incompetent students.
The fee for a driving test will be set at $240 rather than the up to $400 some students are paying now.
Mount Gambier driving instructor Mark Briffa and Motor Driving Instructor Association of SA vice president Roger Sievers met with Shadow Transport Minister Ben Hood last week to express their opposition to the proposed laws.
Mr Briffa said if people with conditions such as anxiety or autism had to do a test in an unfamiliar car with an unfamiliar instructor after completing their logbook, as the government proposed, it would be difficult for them to pass.
Currently, in South Australia, the same driving instructor can train and then test a student if they use the logbook method.
“You’ve got a completely different car, someone you don’t know, it’s not going to be very easy for anyone to pass, let alone someone with a disability,” Mr Briffa said.
“Now, some of these people with a disability quite rightly have … heightened anxiety.
“It quite often takes me two or three lessons … to actually break that ice and create a connection that opens that person’s mind, so they’re now able to learn and their mind now goes outside the car and they read the road rather than worry about mistakes they could be making.”
Difficulty with unfamiliar situations
Lachy Miles, 26, lives on a farm between Naracoorte and Padthaway and has anxiety as well as a learning difficulty.
He did training with three different instructors in Naracoorte and two in Adelaide before going for the Vehicle on Road Test (VORT) in a new car with someone he did not know.
He failed it.
“It probably would have ended differently if I’d done it with my instructor and not this new guy who didn’t know me or know what made me nervous or anxious and cause like a mini-panic when I was driving in the city,” Mr Miles said.
Angry after failing the test, he contacted Mr Briffa, who tailors his training to suit different people’s learning styles and learning difficulties.
He created videos for Mr Miles to watch at home so he could prepare for upcoming lessons in his own time.
Mr Miles got his driver’s licence after completing his logbook and final drive in 2022.
His mother, Fiona Miles, said her son having a good relationship with the instructor was paramount.
“I think everyone knows when you’re learning and you have that relationship with your teacher, it’s going to be easier,” she said.
A state government spokesperson said the disability sector was being consulted about the new testing model, including making sure services were accessible for people with autism.
However, learner drivers would only be able to use their own vehicles where vehicle modifications were requested by a doctor that could not be accommodated in the government vehicle.
Opposition to cameras in cars
The state government’s bill also includes mandatory CCTV in driving instructors’ cars to watch for sexual harassment by drivers and to check that students are legitimately gaining driving skills.
Mr Briffa and other driving instructors are against the idea, with some posting on social media opposing the measure and others put forward.
Mr Briffa said watching back CCTV to show a driver passed someone correctly or not did not take into account the nuance and variability that came with driving.
“We’re losing that human element,” he said.
“A camera can only see what it can see and the people that make a judgement based on that evidence can’t see because they weren’t there.”
The state government spokesperson said it was “committed to protecting people’s safety and welfare, particularly young people and vulnerable South Australians”.
“Over the past eight years, 137 disciplinary actions have been undertaken, involving 125 people — representing more than 20 per cent of industry members,” he said.
This includes 12 authorised examiners/driving instructors who were convicted on multiple counts of charges such as sexual offences, bribery, fraud and corruption, according to the state government.
A Freedom of Information request obtained by Adelaide School of Driving owner Raj Patel found that, between 2015 and 2022, most disciplinary actions related to either poor testing standards or administrative issues.
There were 47 disciplinary actions taken against drivers for unprofessional or inappropriate conduct, including one reported indecent assault.
“There was no consultation from any perspective,” Mr Patel said.