Attention P-platers: Doctors demand "zero tolerance" for bad habits

Australia's medical representative group says learner and provisional drivers should lose their licence for a year, if caught texting or using their mobile phones while on the road.

Das geht nun gar nicht: Telefonieren am Steuer. Australiens Ärzteschaft fordert nun drakonische Strafen. Source: AAP

The Australian Medical Association made the call as it released a new position paper on road safety in which it outlined a number of measures for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

It said laws covering the use of mobile phones and electronic devices in cars should be strictly enforced, with a "zero tolerance" approach introduced for P-plate and L-plate drivers.

"More than a thousand Australians are dying every year. Those numbers are not getting any better. And sadly, and a lot evidence says that some of the heavy hitting, confrontational public safety messages from five, ten years ago may even be losing their impact. Driving is a responsibility not a right, and it's important that new drivers learn good habits from the start."

AMA president Dr Michael Gannon