Eric Thompson: Debate over Kiwi driving raises awareness

To get a restricted licence the driver should get at least two defensive driving lessons. Photo / Supplied

First up, I would like to thank the readers of this column for taking the effort to reply whether they agreed with my thoughts or not.

I know I am privileged to live in a country where we are able to have a robust debate in the most popular newspaper in New Zealand.

I'd imagine some readers of the column had steam coming out of their ears and were no doubt incandescent with rage at some of my comments.

Hey, at least they had an outlet and if they disagreed with my observations, so be it. My point always has been that we share the roads. It's not up to any one driver to make arbitrary decisions on how others are permitted to drive. If someone wants to speed, it's the police's job to deal with it - NOT a road user.

I'll let Albert take up the reins as his comments, on the nzherald.co.nz website, are exactly as I would have put it. He raises a valid observation re what the heck are the police doing about some road users who are brazenly flouting the road code.

"Eric, not everybody agreed with your article, but you'd have to be pleased with the debate that ensued. It was obvious to me that the majority of comments agreed with yours. What really upsets me is the inactivity of the police. In my township we have a manned police station.

"In the six months we have lived here, we have never yet seen a policeman, only their cars. We have a stop sign on our main street. The numbers of drivers who don't even slow down make me realise that the average driver doesn't give a damn about the rules. And walk along the main street.

"In a 400-metre walk, you'll see at least two unregistered cars. You'll see cars parked on yellow no-parking signs. You'll see cars parked overlapping the next car space. You'll see perhaps 10 per cent of drivers in the township driving without seatbelts."

Conversation, no matter where it takes place, raises awareness which is no bad thing and by the to-ing and fro-ing of comments on the website, I'd say a few readers have been engaging in their own robust discussion. The overriding opinion, though, is that New Zealanders in general are pretty crap at navigating a car on our roads.

At the bottom of this article is a list of suggestions I made previously that would ensure the next generation of Kiwi drivers are better equipped to be in control of a few tonnes of fast-moving vehicle, and cull those who do not deserve to be behind the wheel of anything.

The rulers of this country have had numerous chances to rip up the current driving licence legislation and deliver something really worthwhile. But all we got was a poke around the edge approach that will achieve nothing - they might raise the age to 16 but that's about all.

Why on earth a 16-year-old, let alone a 15-year-old, would be allowed to be in charge of a tonne of killing machine I have no idea.

Passing a test here is a joke. To be allowed to drive on a public road at 15, all you have to do is pass a multi-guess test and away you go. After a bit you get a restricted licence, which really restricts nothing, and after a drive with an instructor you're handed a full licence. Right from day one the 15-year-old can buy some turbo-charged rocket ship and be allowed to use it in public.

I think arrogance and an over-inflated belief in one's driving abilities are to blame through a lack of training.

THE WAY AHEAD

* The test before you get in a car is NOT multi-guess; it has to have written answers.
* Raising the driving age to 17 for a learner's plate and then only for a car up to 1300cc. And the driver must have had at least three driving lessons from a qualified driving instructor before they are allowed to actually drive the car.
* To get a restricted licence the driver must show proof of at least two defensive driving lessons from an approved training organisation over a minimum 12 months prior.
* If any traffic infringement occurs during that 12 months the driver starts from day one again including resitting the written test.
* Full licence granted only after being assessed by a traffic officer sitting in the car during a test.
* Only on gaining a full licence can the driver buy any car they want.
* Compulsory third-party insurance for everyone.