Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

More young people passing driver's licence tests

Jordan Bond
By Jordan Bond
Reporter·Rotorua Daily Post·
12 Jul, 2017 05:01 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Keep an eye out: there may be more of these out and about, but they might be better behind the wheel. Photo/File

Keep an eye out: there may be more of these out and about, but they might be better behind the wheel. Photo/File

More of our young drivers are passing their licence tests - and they're better than their peers around the rest of the country.

New Zealand Transport Agency statistics show the rate of Bay of Plenty 16 to-24-year-olds passing Class 1 (car) licence tests has increased at all three levels - learner, restricted and full - in the last five years.

More than 75 per cent of learner tests taken in 2016 resulted in a pass, up from 61 per cent in 2012.

Restricted passes rose from 61 to 65 per cent between 2012 and 2016, and the pass rate for full licences increased from 73 per cent to more than 80.

Both the restricted and full rates were above the national averages of 62 and 77 per cent respectively, and the learner pass rate was about the same.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The percentages were the total number of tests passed as a percentage of total completed tests.

Allan Koller from Rotorua's Allan's Driving School said in his view professional tutoring was behind the growth.

"I'd like to say that's probably why the pass rate is increasing: because more kids are getting tuition from professionals rather than just their parents."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said more students were booking a single lesson just before their test, or turning up after they'd already failed before their next test.

However, Mr Koller said he didn't think the full licence tests - for the permission they were granting - were as difficult as they should be.

"At no stage are you taken out on the open road, when you used to be ... I think it's a time factor thing. The full licence test now is only a 20 minute drive, so they can't afford to take you out of town in case they hit something untoward like road works, and they'd miss their next drive.

"It's a 20 minute drive. There's no parallel parks, no three point turns. It's just a drive around Glenholme and Fenton Park."

Roger Venn, Automobile Association general manager of driver training, agreed that pass rates had increased in part due to a growing use of professional instructors.

"The way we used to learn, with parents, grandparents, siblings - there's a general realisation that we don't have the skill sets to get our young drivers not only just through the test but to [learn to] drive safely."

He said in parts of Europe and the US, drivers had to have a certain number of hours with a professional instructor to get their licence.

He also said pass rates were comparatively low in New Zealand compared to other OECD countries, and therefore increases weren't unexpected.

However, just because a driver had their licence didn't mean they should stop educating themselves, he said.

"I would encourage all young drivers, and their parents, to concentrate on maybe taking some additional training, and the defensive driving course is a great course for that.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"People need to take a responsibility for their actions. It's the most dangerous thing you're going to do every day pretty much, and people are so blasé [about it]."

NZTA's road safety director, Harry Wilson, said it was difficult to draw any conclusions comparing different regions' pass rates.

"The best determinant of whether an applicant will pass or fail is their preparation. The drive.govt.nz website is a key tool to help people get ready for their driving test."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Sport

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Whakarewarewa dominated Te Puna with a 57-10 win in Rotorua.

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

08 Jul 10:50 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP