The president of CAA Atlantic says he’s relieved the Alward government has scrapped plans to lift a ban on overnight driving for novice drivers.

Steve McCall says he doesn't understand why the provincial government even considered the controversial change to the graduated driver licence program.

"There's a 12 per cent reduction in teen fatalities and injuries as a result of [driving bans] between midnight and 5 or 6 a.m. in jurisdictions at large. So we're assuming those statistics also apply to Atlantic Canada," he said.

Drivers need to get experienced during the day to learn to deal with the dangers of night driving, said McCall.

"Reduced visibility, obviously. The need to reduce speed in anticipation of hazard — in the case of New Brunswick, wildlife coming onto the road, or whatever, and being able to deal with that. There are, sadly, impaired drivers on the road, and if a newly-licensed driver encounters somebody like that, do they have the crash avoidance techniques? Have they mastered those by virtue of experience, to do their best to avoid that terrible situation?"

Could be revisited

Public Safety Minister Robert Trevors did not rule out bringing back the reforms in the future. (CBC)

Public Safety Minister Robert Trevors announced the provincial government's reversal in the legislature on Thursday, citing negative response from the public.

"We will not proceed further with Bill 5 at this time," he said.

Speaking to reporters afterward, the public safety minister was not clear on whether the provincial government would revisit the issue.

"I'm saying that we sit down and we listen to the people as they brought us the consultation — all our stakeholders — and we're sitting down and we're reviewing this right now, this message, and we're going to continue to review this," he said.

When Trevors had introduced the proposed amendment for Level 2 drivers last week, he had said it was based on public consultations.

The ban was a hardship for some people, particularly those who live in rural areas, and lifting the ban would not put young people at risk, he had said.

But McCall notes the existing legislation allows for exemptions.

"If you are driving for work reasons, you have an automatic exemption from the regulation. If you are driving for educational reasons, then again, you're automatically exempted. And, if you have a purposeful activity, you can speak to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and get special permission," he said.

Both CAA and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada had both spoken out against lifting the ban.

Former premier and Liberal MLA Shawn Graham also slammed the proposal, his first criticism of the Alward government in two years.