Licensing revamp needed

GRADUATED LICENSING should be made a part of the qualifying requirements for a full Barbados driving licence, says president of the Barbados Road Safety Association Sharmane Bowen.
Graduated licensing is a system designed to delay full licensure while allowing beginners to obtain their initial experience under lower risk conditions. Bowen made the call for it as she spoke to the media yesterday during the launch of the School Traffic Awareness Programme and Saf-F-Y the Safe Chicken mascot at the Arthur Smith Primary School.
The president said that her association believed that the implementation of this new licensing system would contribute to making Barbados’ roads a safer place. She noted that young novice drivers were at significant risk on the road because they lacked both the judgement that came with maturity and the skill that came with experience. 
“Graduated licensing means that when you reach sixteen and you go and get your licence, you can’t pack the car with a whole set of your friends and go on the road unless an adult is there. 
“If you check, [international] research has shown that new drivers have accidents within the first two years of driving, so we are looking at that two-year period to be a probationary period. You have passed the test and you will be able to drive, but under restrictions,” she said.
 
Full story in Tuesday’s DAILY NATION