The Western Australia Drive Safe book may be downloaded as a complete handbook or section by section:

• Full version of the Drive Safe Book (pdf 2.85 MB)

The Drive Safe book as separate sections:

• Part 1 - Introduction – Safe driving (pdf 945kb)
• Part 2 - How to obtain a Western Australian Licence (pdf 460kb)
• Part 3 - Major road rules and additional safety advice (pdf 1.7MB)
• Part 4 - Emergencies and crashes (pdf 615kb)
• Part 5 - The law and you (pdf 669kb)
• Part 6 - Ride safe (pdf 473kb)
• Part 7 - Appendices (pdf 463kb)

You may also download an audio version of the Drive Safe book below.

In December 2009, the RTA began to combine red-light cameras with fixed speed cameras at 50 locations across the state. The safety camera is capable of detecting speeding vehicles, vehicles running red lights, or both.

No new ‘combined’ offences have been created. Drivers will face a penalty notice and associated demerit points for each offence committed.

Safety cameras are being introduced to make intersections safer and reduce the number of crashes at traffic lights.

According to the RTA, “Evaluations of camera enforcement of red-light offences conducted in Australia and overseas have shown this type of enforcement is clearly effective in reducing casualty crashes at intersections. When the evaluations were considered together it is estimated that camera enforcement of red-light offences reduces the number of casualty crashes at intersections by around 30 per cent.”

Intersections with safety cameras will be signposted accordingly. However, motorists need to be aware that there is only one sign warning of the new safety camera, unlike existing fixed speed cameras which have three warning signs in advance.

For more information, please visit the RTA’s Safety camera page.

Part 14 of Road Rules 2008 covers pedestrians. Some of the key rules in this section are:

230  Crossing a road – general

1. A pedestrian crossing a road:
   (a)  must cross by the shortest safe route, and
   (b)  must not stay on the road longer than necessary to cross the road safely.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

236  Pedestrians not to cause a traffic hazard or obstruction

1. A pedestrian must not cause a traffic hazard by moving into the path of a driver.
   Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.
2. A pedestrian must not unreasonably obstruct the path of any driver or another pedestrian.

238  Pedestrians travelling along a road (except in or on a wheeled recreational device or toy)

1. A pedestrian must not travel along a road if there is a footpath or nature strip adjacent to the road, unless it is impracticable to travel on the footpath or nature strip.

Read the full Rules for pedestrians.

Q: What are the changes to the Learner Driver Licensing Scheme?

A: A learner driver who completes a 1 hour structured driving lesson with a fully licensed driving instructor can record 3 hours driving experience in their Learner driver log-book.

Q: When do the changes come into effect?

A: From 19 December 2009.

Q: Is there a minimum or maximum limit on the number of driving experience hours I can record in the Learner driver log-book?

A: While there is no minimum requirement for structured lesson hours, you’re only allowed a maximum of 10 structured lesson hours to be recorded as 30 hours in your log-book. This change doesn’t mean driving lessons are compulsory or that you should stop having professional lessons after reaching the 10 hours of training.

Q: Do I still need to complete the minimum 120 driving experience hours?

A: Yes, the 120 hour minimum driving experience requirement remains the same for all Learner drivers - if you are under 25 years old, you will still need to hold your L-Licence for at least 12 months before attempting to take the Driving Test.

Additionally, learner drivers who are 25 and over are now exempt from completing the Learner driver log-book and any tenure requirement, as of 19 December 2009. They are still required to complete all other formal licensing requirements and are encouraged to use the log book and obtain as much on-road practice with a supervising driver or driving instructor as possible.

Q: Can I record 1 night driving hour as 3?

A: Structured driving lessons done at night (between sunset & sunrise) count for only 1 hour of night driving towards the required 20 hours, with other 2 hours added towards your day driving hours in your log-book for the corresponding entry.

Q: What’s considered as a “structured driving lesson”?

A: The driving lesson must be supervised by a fully licensed driving instructor, who will develop a structured lesson using the RTA Driving Instructor Lesson Planner. The driving instructor is required to keep a copy of each lesson completed in the Lesson Planner for auditing purposes. Each lesson should help enhance a learner driver’s practical skills in low-risk driving. The Learner driver log-book has a good outline of these low-risk driving principles.

The driving instructor will also complete the Structured Lesson Record Keeper – this is a summary of all the structured lessons you’ve taken. You need to attach this Record Keeper to the Declaration of Completion on page 111 of your Learner driver log-book.

Q: Can I count previous professional driving lessons completed before 19 December 2009?

A: Yes, lessons taken with a fully licensed driving instructor before 19 December 2009 count towards the maximum of 10 structured lesson hours recorded as 30 hours in your log-book.  You can record these previous lessons in the Lesson Record Keeper – only the date, duration of each lesson and name of your driving school need to be completed. Where a driving instructor’s signature can’t be obtained, that particular lesson can be verified by your regular supervising driver, who will need to sign the Supplementary Declaration of Completion section.

Q: Are there any new log-book requirements for learner drivers over 25 years old?

A: Learner drivers over 25 years old no longer need to present their Learner driver log-book before attempting the Driving Test.

Obtained from http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/learner-driving-licensing-scheme-rules.htm