Substandard drivers create havoc on roads

By STUART DYE, transport reporter

Tens of thousands of unlicensed and substandard drivers are plaguing New Zealand's roads, say driving experts.

Overseas drivers, fake licences, an inadequate enforcement system and clashing driving cultures are all to blame.

One driving examiner, who asked not to be named, said there were countless horror stories of poor drivers who arrived for testing.

Many had been driving legally on the roads for 12 months due to international convention allowing immigrants to drive on an overseas licence.

"But they are buying licences over the internet in their own country and have no idea of how to drive on the roads here," said the examiner.

"All my colleagues are in agreement; there are tens of thousands of these drivers who should not be on the roads."

Warwick Healey, a former driving instructor, said he became so discouraged that he left the profession after six years.

"I felt more scared driving on the roads here than in a third world country," he said.

Mr Healey said motorists would come to him asking for one lesson to show them how to pass the test. They had little or no idea of how to drive but had been doing so for at least a year and even longer in some circumstances.

They did not want to learn driving etiquette, but just wanted to know how to pass the test.

Noel Rugg, group general manager for Driver Testing New Zealand, admitted there were problems with the system.

The test itself was good, but overseas drivers using the roads on dubious licences for 12 months were a big problem, he said.

"How many fail to go through the due process after that time, we just don't know."

Statistically, overseas driver involvement in fatal and injury crashes is very low - 2.7 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively in 2002, according to the Land Transport Safety Authority.

LTSA spokesman Andy Knackstedt said there was no doubt there were serious issues around fake overseas licences.

Transport Minister Paul Swain is expected to make an announcement on changes early next year.

Plugging loopholes

* Under the 1949 United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic, visitors are allowed to drive with an overseas licence for up to a year after arriving in NZ.

* The Land Transport Safety Authority aims to clamp down on driver licence fraud and those who continue driving after the 12 months has expired.

* Measures being considered include requiring overseas drivers with a non-English language licence to provide an accurate English translation to ensure they have genuine documents, and invalidating overseas licences once a NZ licence has been issued.

Herald Feature: Road safety