Liberals announce school program to reduce youth road trauma

Premier Jeremy Rockliff on Saturday said the education program would include theoretical and hands-on driver education and support for parents and carers in their roles as "driving coaches".

"Keeping our young people safe on the roads is just so incredibly important," Mr Rockliff said.

"Every crash, every serious injury and every death has a devastating impact on individuals, families and loved ones.

"Just as we teach children in our schools how to swim to ensure their safety, a re-elected majority Liberal government will put in place a comprehensive young driver education program starting in grade 9, before students even get a learner's licence."

Transport Minister Michael Ferguson said about 300 Tasmanians were killed or seriously injured on our roads annually.

He said young people aged between 17 and 25 represented 25 per cent of this toll.

"By arming young people with knowledge of responsible driving through practical and in-classroom education, we can create generations of safer young drivers," Mr Ferguson said.

The program is expected to cost $8 million over five years.

It will be delivered in partnership with the RACT and the Road Safety Advisory Council.

RACT chief executive Mark Mugnaioni said the program would equip young people with the skills and experience needed to step confidently into driving.

"We know that Tasmania has a stubbornly high proportion of our population that are killed or seriously injured on our roads every year," he said.

"Now is the time to invest in a new approach to lift our game and that is what we see from this comprehensive program.

"Over the next five years, 40,000 young Tasmanians are likely to get their licence so it's investing in the next generation, in the future of Tasmania to break the generational cycle of death and trauma on our roads."

Launceston parent Amber Blazley said teaching her 16-year-old daughter Montana Mountney how to drive was trickier than she expected it would be.

She said having RACT training paired with driver education in schools would benefit both of them.

"It's going to give her the skills and the knowledge that I can't teach her, but someone else can," Ms Blazley said.

Montana said she understood there was a massive responsibility for a young driver to be accountable for their own safety as well as passengers in the car and other road users.

She said personal technology, like smartphones and smart watches was a key distraction for young drivers.

"I turn off all my notifications off so that way I do not get distracted," Montana said.

"It's really important to me at least to make sure we're focused on the road.

"It can save lives."