More than one in three drivers sitting restricted licence tests don't get the chance to complete them.
NZTA figures show the termination rate for restricted licences was 35 per cent between January and September. The figure refers to tests not completed due to an immediate failure error or the accumulation of several critical failure errors. Immediate failure errors include collisions, failure to give way, excessive speed and failing to stop. Critical errors include going too slowly or too fast and failing to look or signal.
The terminated rate for full licence tests this year was 27 per cent. Auckland's termination rates were the highest of any region at 42 per cent for restricted licences and 34 per cent for full licences.
Donna Keeley, owner of Focus Driving School in Hawke's Bay, said she'd heard parents say they wished their son or daughter could have continued driving rather than having the test cut short.
Bay of Plenty Driving School owner Jeroen van der Beek said the decision to terminate a test was all about safety.
