Minister of Transport Chris Bishop announced the proposed changes to make it easier for people to obtain a driver's licence. Photo / Alex Cairns
Minister of Transport Chris Bishop announced the proposed changes to make it easier for people to obtain a driver's licence. Photo / Alex Cairns
Proposed changes to the driver licensing system aim to make obtaining a full licence more accessible.
Hawke’s Bay-based driving educators are concerned safety may be compromised for efficiency, highlighting the need for improved driver education.
Consultations on the changes are open until June 9, with concerns about rural and inexperienced drivers.
Proposed changes to the driver licensing system has some Bay driving educators worried safety is being substituted for efficiency.
On Sunday, Minister for Transport Chris Bishop announced a range of suggested changes to the licensing system, including removing the full-licence practical test and introducing safety mitigations for people on theirlearner or restricted licence.
Bishop said about one million adults in New Zealand do not have a full driver’s licence, and nearly half of them have no licence at all.
“The Government is proposing changes to the driver licensing system to make the process for getting a full driver’s licence more accessible, efficient and affordable.”
Driver IQ director and driving instructor Stephen Jones said the company had been advocating for change in the licence system and saw the proposed changes as a step but not in the right direction.
“The system has got some challenges at the moment,” he said.
“But to me, the solution to that is to improve access to driver education. To meet the standards, not to get rid of a lot standards to make it more convenient for people.”
Driver IQ operates in Hawke’s Bay, Taupo and Waikato.
Jones said if the Government wanted safer roads there were three aspects to consider: engineering, enforcement, and driver education.
“I’d like to see more driver training in school to change the culture of New Zealand drivers.
“There’s a hell of a lot of people that have been driving for a long time that still don’t drive to the standard.”
He said drivers who have held onto a restricted licence for several years and haven’t sat a practical test for their full licence, realistically won’t be checking their mirrors, checking blind spots, and may not know how to indicate on roundabouts.
“So, under these proposed changes, will they automatically get the full licence issued because they passed the eligibility date if they’ve kept a clean record?”
He said the timing periods for each licence class did not reflect someone’s experience, as currently a person could go six months on their learners, never drive a car right up until a week before the test, start driving and they’re eligible for the test with just a week’s drive time behind them.
“Under the proposed changes, once you’ve got your restricted licence, you could move on to university, go overseas, for example, not drive at all for that 18 months and automatically get a full licence.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve gained the experience to now be carrying passengers in the car.”
Kelly Annand, general manager of driving safety and licensing programme Connect Youth and Community Trust, said although she did not have an “allergic reaction” to the changes, the Ministry of Transport needed to be careful safety was not substituted for efficiency.
Kelly Annand general manager for Connect Driver Safety and Licensing in Waipukurau. Photo / Michaela Gower
“I can see what they are trying to do, but if you pull on one part of the spider web here, what does it do to the other part over there, and I just don’t know if that’s been completely realised yet.”
Annand had been going to court regularly over the past six years, helping clients with driver-related issues.
Currently, if a driver accumulates 100 or more demerit points in any two-year period, their licence can be suspended. Annand is concerned that reducing the demerit points threshold for learner or restricted drivers to 50 from 100 will put more people in the court system.
“The Ministry has to be really careful that there isn’t unintended consequences that would just push people to be in a position where they were losing their licence quicker and then choosing to then drive while disqualified.”
She also has concerns for rural drivers being given full licences without experiencing urban roads.
“From a rural perspective, a lot of our young people have been driving on farms their whole lives.
“So, you automatically become a natural driver, but does that mean I can drive in the city? Did it mean I knew how to handle a roundabout?”
The Ministry of Transport is accepting consultations through its website until June 9.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region.
