A Victorian Parliamentary committee has recommended lowering the P-plate driving age to 17, but the State Government has rejected the idea, saying it would lead to more deaths on the road.

Victoria is the only jurisdiction in the country that has a minimum probationary driving age of 18.

The Law Reform, Road and Safety Committee recommended lowering the age after hearing "persuasive evidence" that young people in country areas were at great risk of being disadvantaged by the higher age restriction.

"The committee came to the conclusion that licensing is a gateway to mobility for many young people in non-urban areas, and that mobility is essential for young people to access opportunities for their future," the report said.

"The central recommendation of this report is therefore that the probationary driving age in Victoria be lowered to 17 years."

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan said the Government did not support the proposal because it would undermine efforts to cut the road toll.

"[Road safety experts] expect if we drop the age to 17 years of age we'd have 10 more sons and daughters, young people, who would lose their lives on our roads. That is simply not acceptable," Mr Donnellan said.

"So let me make it very clear: we do not support the proposition, we will not be lowering the driving age to 17 years of age."

Mr Donnellan said drivers aged 18-25 were four times more likely to die or be seriously injured on the road, and he made no apologies for putting safety first.

"The State Government has a 'towards zero' road safety policy. We're very serious about that," he said.

"We do not expect anybody in the future to die on our roads and that is very much what we're working towards."

Not all members of the committee agreed with the idea, including Labor MP Geoff Howard, from Ballarat.

He disagrees with the idea of changing the age and is instead pushing for a system of exemptions based on undue hardship.

Mr Howard said if a 17-year-old could satisfy the case that they needed a licence, they should be allowed to drive for the purposes of the exemption only.

The committee also recommended changes to the current probationary scheme that would mean new drivers would not be allowed to drive between 10:00pm and 5:00am, and that they could not drive with a friend in the car for the first year.