THE National Road Safety Council has proposed that trained drivers spend a stipulated number of hours with a certified driving instructor, as part of the requirement for obtaining their drivers’ licences.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, the executive director of the National Road Safety Council, Paula Fletcher, said that the proposal was one of the recommendations of the Graduated Licensing System, which would become a part of the Road Traffic Act, which is to be amended.

“One can still be taught to drive by a parent, a brother, a neighbour, or a friend…but part of that time… will have to be spent with a certified driving instructor,” she said.

The Graduated Licencing System, which is used by the United States, will comprise three phases – training, testing and assessment. On passing the driving test, persons would be given a provisional licence which would allow them to drive under prescribed regulations.

Fletcher added that the permanent licence would only be given six months into the assessment phase, if the driver has not experienced a collision that is caused by him or her.

According to Fletcher, the proposed system would have implications for driving instructors, who would be required to become registered and certified by the Island Traffic Authority.

She added that the Traffic Authority, which has responsibility for issuing drivers’ licences and instructor certification, was being re-organised in an effort to encourage more transparency and accountability in the system.

“The Island Traffic Authority is being re-organised to deal with the driving test and the driver instructor certification and the passing of vehicles…that is the fitness testing certification,” Fletcher said.

The re-organisation process, Fletcher added, stemmed from the number of reports, which show that large numbers of persons were obtaining their licences, even if they are not suited to drive, while some were being allowed to drive vehicles, which have not gone through the mandated physical fitness examination.

“I have gone to a fitness examination depot for instance to see how it operates and I saw somebody there and he was passing a number of cars, but he had a file, not cars,” she stated.

The Graduated Licencing System, she said, would therefore serve to eliminate or reduce the occurrence of these negative practices.

In another move to enhance the “driver training experience”, Fletcher said, the National Road Safety Council has developed a Driver’s Manual and a Driving Instructor’s Manual, which would serve to guide individuals.

The Road Safety Council executive director also indicated that the Jamaican Road Code was being updated to highlight road hazards such as driver fatigue and the impact of speed on crashes.