Driver education and learner driver training
Learning to drive is an important milestone for young people and a shared responsibility between families and schools. In NSW, schools support students by building knowledge and understanding of road safety through PDHPE, while parents and carers play the primary role in supervising and teaching practical driving skills.
- Learning to drive is a key responsibility of parents and carers.
- Teaching to drive is not part of the NSW PDHPE 7–10 syllabus or Stage 6 Life Ready course. It is not a requirement in NSW high schools.
- Driver education is taught in NSW high schools through PDHPE.
What is the difference between driver education and learner driver training?
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Advice about using advanced driver training programs at school
NSW public schools have been advised not to offer advanced driver training courses such as:
- go-cart and race club driving
- driving on off-road tracks and skid pans
- defensive driving courses.
Transport for NSW states they have little or no positive effect on improving road user behaviour for young people learning to drive. In fact, they can lead to an increase in risky behaviours due to overconfidence.
Learning about traffic laws, driving simulators, wearing fatal vision goggles (beer goggles) also have no real impact on changing or improving young people's behaviours. They are not relevant to the curriculum and therefore not recommended.
The best place for learner drivers to achieve basic driving skills is in the real traffic environment in a real motor vehicle under the supervision of an experienced driver or instructor.
Transport for NSW has developed the Safer Drivers Course as a best practice model for learner drivers in NSW.
Consideration of learner driver training program implementation
This information is only for high schools that have identified a student and community need to support learner drivers in obtaining their driver’s licence as outlined in the department's Road safety education procedures.
Principals approve the implementation of a learner driver training program and must ensure they follow the Learner driver training program implementation – checklist (DOCX 330 KB) Download to access
Resources to share with students and families
- Helping young drivers get their licence information to support students get their licence (DoE)
- Which car do you want your year 11 or year 12 child driving? (DoE)
- Getting a NSW driver licence | Service NSW
- Younger drivers - TfNSW
- Supervising learner drivers - the fundamentals - e-learning course for parents and carers teaching their learner driver, Service NSW