Nine.com.au and Drive join forces to launch P-Plate Drive Safe campaign

Too many young drivers are killed or injured on our roads each year.

Younger drivers are the most over-represented group in this tragic statistic with 20 per cent of all driver fatalities in the past five years aged between 17-25 years (source Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics Jan-19 to Jan-24).

Drive and Nine.com.au believe that being a better-trained driver makes you a safer driver, and have launched ‘P-Plate Drive Safe’ with this as the end goal.

The four-week campaign is about raising awareness for further training for our young drivers, sharing stories of those who have been impacted by road tragedy, and encouraging all drivers to take action.

Nationally available Defensive Driver courses are designed to improve the driving knowledge and hands-on skills of all drivers, however, awareness is low amongst the community of their presence, benefits and how easy it is to access them. ‘P-Plate Drive Safe’ aims to change that.

Kevin Flynn, Master Trainer at Driver Dynamics said: “The best way to build safer driving behaviours is to influence drivers at a young age, before bad habits set in. There are many young drivers on the roads who may have been taught by parents and adults with old or outdated driving techniques. Defensive driving courses provide the most up-to-date training to better prepare young drivers on today’s roads.”

Drive CEO, Simon Halfhide said: "Inexperienced young drivers involved in road trauma events have such a lifelong impact on too many Australian families, including my own. At Drive, we want more young drivers and their parents to have access to these potentially lifesaving resources, which we know can make a difference. Money and location should not be a barrier to saving lives on the road."

Nine.com.au Director, Kerri Elstub said: "As the mother of two young men at the beginning of a lifetime of driving, I know first-hand how valuable these courses are in setting safe driving behaviours. We want to ensure this training is available and affordable for as many families a possible."

Through the impact and reach of the combined assets, this campaign will reach more than 10 million Australians. (Combined deduped number of nine.com.au and Drive, 10.699m.)

Follow all the updates on our Safer Driving hub.