Craig Foss: Licence testing overhaul delivering safety

Craig Foss

IT WAS disappointing, but not surprising, to read an opinion piece from Labour last week attacking the good work being done to help our young people through the driver licence process.

The piece was typically negative, irresponsible and uninformed. Is it now Labour policy for taxpayers to fund driver licence tests, as indicated by its spokesperson? Typical Labour, announce an uncosted yet obviously very expensive policy.

Here are the facts:

A number of community, local and government agencies are working hard to help young people successfully sit both their restricted and full licence tests. They do great work - everything from training in prison, to helping school kids, to lending or donating vehicles and taking driving lessons.

These programmes, no matter who runs them, make a real difference for our young people - with a driver licence comes independence and greater employment opportunities.

Ministry of Transport figures show there are 3,406,724 licence holders in New Zealand. As at 20 October 2015, there were 19,289 people with a Hawke's Bay address on a Class 1 (car) restricted or learner driver licence - that's 3.6 per cent of all Class 1 restricted or learner licences nationwide, which is about right for our population.

There is nothing illegal about being on a learner or restricted licence, it takes time to progress through the Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS).

The improvements National has made to the GDLS have made our roads safer. Yes, the restricted licence test is harder. We're helping to ensure our young people are equipped to get behind the wheel.

The test and the preparation it requires are not supposed to be easy. Would an easier process adequately prepare our young people for the challenges they're likely to face? Would it help to lower our unacceptably high road toll?

One death on our roads is one death too many - we shouldn't water down the testing requirements for anyone, including our young people.

The road toll for under-20s has improved considerably following changes to the GDLS. In 2010, 20 young people died on our roads and 202 were seriously injured.

Last year, that toll was almost halved - 11 deaths and 133 serious injuries.

This improvement can also be attributed to the Government's zero-alcohol policy for under 20s.

There are challenges for our rural young people, including access to testing facilities. So, earlier this year, we changed providers - VTNZ took over the contract for driver licence testing.

They are now delivering a much better service, with significantly reduced wait times for testing. They are also working with stakeholders to further improve on issues such as accessibility for our rural youth.

Pass rates for the restricted test are now higher than under the previous provider. Young people are taking the test more seriously and putting in the hard yards.

It does not cost $800 to get your full licence. The total cost of application and test fees is $338.20 - that covers all three stages: learner, restricted and full. The Government does not "make money" on this - the fees are set on a cost recovery basis.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council receives $460,000 annually from the NZ Transport Agency to fund road safety initiatives. The council is able to decide, with backing from the Transport Agency and the Regional Transport Committee, how this money is spent. I encourage the council to support one of the many programmes already running in our community.

Further improvements to the licensing system are on the way. Changes will be aimed at improving the system's efficiency and accessibility while maintaining our core objective - ensuring, as much as practically possible, the safety of you, your children and family, and all road users.

I will always place saving lives and preventing injury first.

Craig Foss is the MP for Tukituki and Associate Minister of Transport.