All Australian drivers should be made to undertake first aid training before receiving or renewing their licences, St John Ambulance says.

The charity has called on state and territory governments to make it compulsory for motorists to complete an online first aid course before they take to the road.

St John Ambulance's Victorian chief executive Stephen Horton said the practice has been successful in a number of European countries.

"The statistics are horrifying," he told 774 ABC Melbourne.

"The science from overseas [shows] up to 85 per cent of preventable pre-hospital deaths are around blocked airways.

"So drivers who come across the scenes of accidents or those involved in accidents, or indeed even passing by other incidents, could save a life simply by keeping an airway unblocked until paramedics arrive.

"Minutes matter when it comes to blocked airways, cardiac arrest as a result of trauma in road accidents."

Mr Horton said the course would not require extensive hours in the classroom and could be done very easily online.

"Only about 14 per cent of Australians have any degree of first aid training," he said.

"And that includes many who haven't completed an accredited course, have perhaps just done some online training. It's an incredibly low number.

"We all know the road are getting busier and there's an increasing number of vehicles and young people [would] have the chance to learn these life-saving skills early."