Top road code stumpers revealed

NAILED IT: Phoenix Fiu Poufa, Masterton, after passing his learner driver licence theory test in 2009, when computerised tests replaced paper tests. PHOTO/FILE

Some of the hardest questions in the learner licence theory test have been revealed by the NZ Transport Agency.

The top road code stumper was: When driving at night on a road with lanes you must be able to stop in half the length of clear road you can see in front of you, true or false?

Forty one per cent of test takers answered this incorrectly.

On the flip side, the easiest question, correctly answered by 99 per cent of aspiring drivers, was about what to do when an ambulance was flashing its red lights or sounding its siren behind a driver.

"The good news is that the pass rate for the driver licence theory test is increasing and is now sitting at around 70 per cent," said Ernst Zollner, NZTA road safety director.

"Even the toughest questions on the theory test are still being answered correctly more often than people are getting them wrong."

Wairarapa's pass rate is at 66 per cent this year so far, with one in three aspiring drivers failing his or her learner licence theory test. It has improved since 2009 - up from 51 per cent.

The learner's test has 35 questions randomly selected from a databank of over 200 questions, unlike the old paper "scratchie" tests, which the computerised test replaced.

When someone turns 16, they can sit the test, based on the road code.

The number of fatal and serious injury crashes involving teenage drivers has almost halved over a five-year period.

Mr Zollner said the number had dropped from 475 in 2008 to 257 in 2012. Despite the downward trend, road crashes are still the single biggest killer of teenagers in New Zealand. On average, one teen is killed on New Zealand roads every week and New Zealand's teen crash rates are still among the worst in the developed world.

"That's a situation no one should accept, and New Zealanders are looking for decisive action to reduce this needless waste of young life and young potential," Mr Zollner said. "Raising the standard of driving required to gain a licence with more challenging tests is an essential part of the solution."

Over half of drivers aged 15 to 19 involved in crashes had a restricted or learner's licence.

Mr Zollner said the computerised format for the test, introduced in 2009, was providing insight into potential gaps in learner drivers' road code knowledge. This could help to identify specific issues to target through driver education, he said.

More information on the top 10 toughest and easiest questions is available on the NZTA website.