Learners forge logbook hours

Of the 968 Aussies to take part in the Budget Direct Car Insurance Learner Driver Survey, nearly 40 per cent admitted to falsifying the entries in their logbook.
However, Le Pass Driving School Bankstown instructor Jack Le hasn’t noticed logbooks being exaggerated but has picked up many learner drivers over-steering and not looking further enough ahead in the traffic.
“The best advice I can give is for learners to have professional driving lessons to start with so that don’t pick up bad habits that parents may have slipped into after many years on the road,” he said.
“After getting the basics correct, then parents can help young drivers get up the logbook hours.”
Razeb Hasan from Canterbury’s AMS Driving School, said it’s hard to know if logbooks are being forged since checking the number of hours already spent on the roads is not up to the instructor.
“I do notice a lot of mistakes, though, including not doing enough checks when changing lanes so it’s best to have a professional teach the basics first,” he said.
According to Budget Direct, there was also a strong contrast between the logbook tracking hours expected of manual drivers compared to those who drove automatic.
The data showed those who held a manual licence were more likely to forge their logbooks, with males more likely to do so.
When it came to sentiment around safety, over 40 per cent of respondents believed that recording logbook hours in different weather conditions was helpful plus refresher courses for parents and increasing the minimum age of learner drivers.