Driver licence overhaul: Should 60 hours of supervised driving be mandatory? - The Front Page

The Government is keen on making it easier to get more drivers on the road.

The Government is keen on making it easier to get a driver licence - but there are calls for more improvements to have a greater impact on our youth road toll.

If the proposed changes are implemented, the second practical driving test required for a full licence will be scrapped, and the number of eyesight tests needed reduced.

It also includes new safety measures including demanding a “clean driving record” of restricted drivers, halving the demerit threshold, and introducing a zero-alcohol limit for learners and restricted drivers of any age.

AA road safety spokesman, Dylan Thomsen told The Front Page it’d be the first major change to New Zealand’s driver licence system since 2011.

“New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world that has two on-road driving tests. Most other similar countries like ours have just one on-road driving test which would be the equivalent of when you get your restricted licence in New Zealand currently.

“But, there’s also some really important context to add to that, which is most of those other countries that only have one test also have requirements for a certain number of hours of practice that learner drivers have to clock up and complete before they can sit that test.

“Some countries have requirements for having to complete a certain number of practice hours with a supervising driver - somebody with a full driver’s licence. It could be a parent, grandparent, uncle, family friend,” he said.

Thomsen said AA believed New Zealand should introduce a minimum of at least 60 hours that learners would have to complete if we were to get rid of the second on-road test.

“We have one of the highest rates of road deaths from crashes and the highest risk group is under 25-year-olds. They die at the highest rate. So, we have not been doing a great job in terms of actually training and preparing people to be safe drivers in New Zealand,” he said.

Consultation on the changes to licences comes as the Government continues with its pledge to reverse Labour’s “blanket speed limit reductions” - something National campaigned on and a part of the National-Act coalition agreement.

The Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024 requires NZTA and local councils to reverse all speed limits lowered since January 2020 on several categories of roads back to their previous limits by July 1, 2025.

By July 1, 2026, local streets outside a school will be required to have a 30km/h variable speed limit. Rural roads that are outside schools will be required to have variable speed limits of 60km/h or less.

In terms of local road changes, councils have until May 1, 2025 to advise NZTA of the specified roads subject to reversal under the new rule.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about the proposed licence changes and what the “speed reduction reversals” actually mean.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

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