TO SAVE LIVES ON OUR ROADS, QLD'S DRIVER LICENSING SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED

The Transport Workers' Union is calling on the Queensland Transport Minister to urgently amend the State's driver licensing system.

The call comes after the Courier Mail revealed inexperienced learner drivers are allowed on our roads, drivers can obtain an MC drivers licence (B-double prime mover licence) without undergoing a practical examination and drivers can drive vehicles on our roads that aren't fitted with seatbelts.

Hughie Williams the Branch Secretary of the Transport Workers' Union said, "With the State's road toll at 228, 23 more than this time last year the Government urgently needs to upgrade its licencing regulations."

According to data from the Queensland Transport Department there have been 31 heavy vehicle fatalities on our roads so far this year and one in five people who have died on Queensland roads this year have been aged 17 to 24.

Mr Williams said, "We can not afford to lose anymore lives on our roads, it's affecting too many families and the State financially."

Each road death costs $1.7 million and each injury incident $408,000 expressed in terms of 1996 dollars (meaning the current figure would be higher). Australian Bureau of Transport Economics data.

The TWU will be seeking an urgent meeting with Transport Minister Rachel Nolan to discuss this pressing safety issue.