An important learner driver mentoring program in Benalla Rural City is urgently seeking new volunteer learner driver mentors, especially females.
The L2P learner driver program, which helps young people obtain their licence, needs more volunteer mentor drivers, as demand for this potentially life-changing service grows.
Currently there are 22 volunteer mentors providing between one and eight hours driving supervision each fortnight, but there are still nine young people on the waiting list.
A training session for new mentors will be held in Benalla from 9am-3pm on Thursday 20 October 2022.
Gaining a licence enables young people to access employment, training, education and social opportunities that they would otherwise not be able to get to. Mentors also find the experience very personally rewarding.
Sharon Nylen, who has been a mentor driver for more than six months, said “people considering joining the program as a mentor should do it now as it is a great experience”.
“Driving experience is essential to produce safe drivers, knowing that you’ve had a positive impact on a young person’s life is so rewarding,” Sharon said.
Coordinated by Benalla Rural City Council, the L2P program is a Victoria-wide initiative funded by TAC and managed by VicRoads.
The program assists learner drivers aged 16 to 21 to complete the mandatory 120 hours of on-road driving experience before being eligible to sit for a probationary licence test. All the young people in the program have faced significant barriers in relation to getting enough driving experience.
The L2P program is generously supported by Tyrepower Benalla, Benalla Auto Club, Winton Motor Raceway and Benalla Toyota, which has been supplying cars since the program started in 2010. In that time, 164 young people have gained valuable driving experience and successfully graduated from the program.
