Learner log book and hours tracker in Victoria

By the end of this topic you can

• You can fill in every column of a log entry correctly.
• You can keep running totals for all driving and night driving.
• You can plan how many hours a week you need.
• You can complete the declaration once you reach 120 hours.

What you need to know and understand

• Night means dark conditions when headlights are needed to drive safely.
• Supervisors need a full (non-probationary) car licence at the time of the trip; instructors write their instructor number instead.
• Only the official VicRoads log book is accepted, never a photocopy.
• If your log book is not accepted at the test, you lose your booking and test fees and may wait at least six weeks for another drive test.

Column by column: what each part of an entry means

Each paper page has one line per trip. Fill it in at the end of every session. In myLearners the app records the drive and your supervisor confirms it, but the same ideas apply.

• Date and start to finish time, with am or pm.
• All driving, this trip: only minutes spent driving or practising parking, not stops.
• All driving, total: this trip added to the previous total.
• Night driving only: the night part of the trip and its own running total.
• Odometer start and finish: the main odometer, not the trip meter.
• Conditions boxes: tick traffic, weather, road type, light and parking.
• Car registration, supervisor licence number and signature.

A worked example of one trip

Mia leaves home at 6.10 pm with her dad and gets back at 7.25 pm. A 10-minute fuel stop means she drove 1 hour 5 minutes. Headlights were needed from about 6.45 pm, so 40 minutes count as night.

Her previous totals were 23 h 40 m (all driving) and 3 h 10 m (night). She writes 1 h 05 m this trip and a new total of 24 h 45 m, then 0 h 40 m night and a new night total of 3 h 50 m. Odometer: 48,210 to 48,262. She ticks the conditions, writes the rego, and her dad adds his licence number and signs. On a new page, she copies both totals to the top.

Planning your 120 hours

Learners under 21 must hold their permit for at least 12 months anyway, so steady weekly practice beats cramming. Rough weekly targets:

• Finish in 6 months: about 4 h 40 m a week, including about 50 minutes at night.
• Finish in 9 months: about 3 h 10 m a week, including about 30 minutes at night.
• Finish in 12 months: about 2 h 20 m a week, including about 25 minutes at night.

Why log books get rejected, and how to stay safe

VicRoads can refuse single trips or the whole book, and a rejected trip does not count. Falsely completing a log book is an offence under the Road Safety Act 1986.

1. Use blue or black pen only. No white-out and no ditto marks.
2. Rule a line through any mistake and redo it on the next line.
3. Have every supervisor, including instructors, fill in the List of Supervising Drivers at their first session.
4. Each supervisor must sign exactly the same way in the list, every entry and the declaration.
5. Leave no blank columns.
6. Copy finished pages. Copies are not proof, but help you rebuild a replacement book, which supervisors must sign again.
7. At 120 hours, you and a supervisor sign the Declaration of Learner Log Book Completion. In myLearners, you declare in the app and your supervisor confirms. Finish this before test day.

Common mistakes

• Counting stops as driving time. Note stop times as you go.
• Leaving night minutes out of the all-driving total.
• Writing the trip meter distance instead of odometer readings.
• Letting a probationary licence holder sign as supervisor.

Test yourself: Learner log book and hours tracker in Victoria

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.