Get full licence or face ban, Govt says

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Tens of thousands of drivers sitting on restricted and learner licences will soon get a Government hurry-up to qualify properly - or risk losing the right to drive.

Drivers on restricted licences cannot take passengers or drive after 10pm. The stage is meant to be an intermediate step between learners, who cannot drive alone and must display L plates, and a full licence.

However, more than 300,000 people - almost 10 per cent of all licensed drivers - now have restricted licences and about 200,000 have been using them for more than two years.

Similar numbers, especially motorcyclists, have been sitting on learner licences for sometimes more than 15 years.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce told the Weekend Herald that the Government planned to impose a time limit as part of its plan to crack down on high-risk drivers.

"We'd be looking at things like a maximum period that you can spend on a stage before you go backwards."

Mr Joyce said too many drivers were not moving on to get full licences.

Those on restricted licences were presumably breaking the law if they were driving with passengers.

He said the Government was also considering:

•A system to help police identify restricted licence drivers, possibly based on the 'P' (probationary) plates used in Australia.

•Greater use of speed cameras to give police more time to deal with problem drivers.

•A more realistic driving test based on everyday challenges, such as coping with heavy traffic.

The main focus of the Government's strategy is, as Mr Joyce puts it, "a young kid at 2 o'clock in the morning being egged on by his mates at 120 km/h, roaring round the countryside and having an accident".

This week, he released figures showing high-risk and young drivers were responsible for more than half of New Zealand's road deaths.

The Ministry of Transport report followed an accident involving teenagers in Waihi last weekend in which a 17-year-old apparently crossed the centre line and hit an oncoming car. The crash killed him, a 16-year-old passenger and the other driver.

Police said the 17-year-old was speeding and on a restricted licence. Alcohol was found in the wreckage.

Mr Joyce said special plates for drivers on restricted licences were a possible option to help police to spot young drivers breaking the rules.

"What we do want to do is find a better way for police to be able to recognise quickly whether someone's on a restricted [licence] or not.

"Smart electronic recognition of number plates is quite helpful in that respect as well, but then how you would link that to the driver is interesting."

Mr Joyce said he was also keen to introduce restrictions on the power of vehicles young people could drive because evidence from crashes showed many could not handle the turbo-charged, high-performance cars they had.

The difficulty was finding a method which could be applied across the huge range of cars available in New Zealand.

The minister said he was waiting for an Australian report which compared existing schemes in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria before deciding what would work best here.

Figures from Mr Joyce's office show about 200,000 drivers have held restricted licences for more than two years and about 25,000 (8 per cent of all motorists) have had one for more than 10 years.

Drivers aged under 25 are allowed to sit their full test after 18 months on a restricted licence or 12 months if they take a defensive driving course.

Even more people are stuck on learner licences. In April last year, 18,127 motorcyclists had held their learner licences for more than 15 years.

Licence stages
Learner: Must be supervised and display L plates.
Restricted: Can drive alone but not after 10pm. Cannot carry passengers.
Full: No restrictions.