Test

Young drivers and the law

Under the subheading of law reform in action, the syllabus states that the following must be covered:

- Identify and investigate a contemporary law reform issue

- Examine the conditions that give rise to the need for law reform, the agencies of reform and mechanisms of reform

- Assess the effectiveness of law reform in achieving just outcomes with regard to a contemporary law reform issue

The topic that I would personally like to study is young drivers and the law. The reason for this is it directly affects my personal context and the safety and wellbeing of a majority of others. It would also help allow me to further understand the reasons as to why there have been so many recent reforms on this topic. According to the Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) there hasn’t been a significant amount of crashes in recent years when compared with the amount between the years 1951-1989. This directly relates to the syllabus as it shows how creating new laws and altering old ones would aid in preventing fatal crashes and reducing the amount of crashes in the aforementioned years. In a case TG V R a seventeen year old P-plate driver was driving home with his four friends when he lost control on a wet road whilst speeding and killed his four friends. In response to this scenario the NSW government implemented new rules that made it illegal for P1 drivers to carry more than one underage passenger between the hours of 11pm and 5am. This directly corresponds with the second syllabus point which has been previously outlined as it demonstrates situations that cause law reform. The graduated driver licensing scheme introduces independent driving by providing adequate supervision and delaying exposure to certain driving risks. By integrating this scheme into society, it is evident that law reform needs have been identified and can provide means for investigation for younger students (as stated in first syllabus point).

Due to a combination of all these...