For everyday families, the cost to sit the test is a lot of money | Rebecca Whitfield-Baker

Getting your licence in SA is an expensive exercise, but how does this cost compare with other states? Rebecca Whitfield-Baker reports.

Long gone are the days of turning up at the local cop shop and doing a spin with the friendly policeman to get your driver’s licence, as I did back in the late 1980s.

These days it is a lot more complex, costly and in South Australia, at least, includes the question, to Vort, or not?

And, I’ve got to say, the answer still eludes this non-native Crow-eater almost 18 months after first pondering it when my eldest turned 16 and got his L-plates.

Unlike most other states and territories, SA’s learner drivers have an option beyond a regular-style, pass-or-fail driving test (the Vort, or vehicle on road test), in the form of a competency-based training and assessment course (CBT & A or logbook), which involves progressively mastering a series of skills.

Neither is cheap and each is a far cry from my own Western Australian bush-acquired licence-getting in which a broad-smiling country copper told me not to worry that I didn’t know how to reverse park, that he’d “show me how it was done”.

Nor, to stress that I’d forgotten to put on my seatbelt, just to remember it in future.

As a farm kid, I’d been driving utes and motorbikes from the time I was little, not that it was something I’ve ever particularly liked or been good at, inspiring the nickname “Rebecca the Wrecker”.

I share this only because it follows that teaching my own kids to drive doesn’t come naturally.

Hallelujah, I say, for driving instructors – if you can get one, amid a Covid backlog and months’-long waiting times, that is.

The driving costs add up.

The RAA last month shared data that shows there’s been a surge in learner drivers, with 67,232 learner permit holders in SA in June – 10,000 (or 17%) more than the same time two years ago.

Ben Haythorpe is community engagement senior manager at the organisation which runs the state’s largest driving school and says demand for driving instructors is fierce, not just in SA but around Australia.

“There is no jurisdiction where it is easy to get lessons at the moment, so planning (ahead) is really important,” he says, suggesting locking in early 12 to 15 lessons for those doing the log book method.

(According to RAA’s website, non-members will pay $800 for five 90-minute log book sessions, or $625 for five 60-minute Vort lessons.)

To me, the notion of pre-planning six months or more of driving lessons before your child even has their Ls is downright daunting.

I struggle to decide what I am going to feed the kids for dinner nightly, let alone knowing where we’ll be at 4.15pm on a Tuesday in 180 days from now.

Needless to say, an instructor was booked for my teenager and the need to choose Vort or log book averted, as only Vort lessons were on offer, at $120 for 90 minutes.

Will we choose the same approach for his younger brother? I’m not sure.

Son No. 1 failed his driving test on the first go, “not seeing” a roadworks sign and going several kilometres over the speed limit which, as clearly stated, heralds an automatic fail.

Still, the zero tolerance approach is frustrating – and expensive, costing us almost $500, or $247 a pop.

While I get the instructor (in our case RAA) needs to be paid for their time, surely the government charges could be waived the second time round, especially given I am told about half will fail on the first attempt?

For everyday families, the cost to sit the test is a lot of money, especially when you consider the other charges, such as licensing fees, which still need to be paid.

Kids absolutely need to be ready to get behind the wheel but why does the cost vary so much from state to state? A google search lists significantly cheaper fees interstate for driving tests elsewhere, including $60 in New South Wales and $66.70 in Victoria.

Others, such as WA, include the cost of one test in the initial L-plate licence fee of $160.

Surely we could aim for a bit more consistency nationally – learners are required to do 120 hours of supervised driving in some states, while it’s 50 in others.

But for now, I am adjusting to the fact my firstborn is fast growing up, happily telling me during the week: “You rest, Mum, I’ll take (younger brother) to footy training tonight.”

A tear might have escaped as they pulled from the driveway.