Kerre Woodham: I wish the drivers license overhaul was tougher

Remember the terror of the driving test? Your heart in your mouth as you drove around the mean streets of Timaru or Ashburton, or in my case Tauranga, with a gimlet-eyed traffic cop watching your every move. The parallel parking, the hill starts. I only got my license because the cop took pity on me, I'd have lost my job if I didn't pass the test. But it's been 40 years now and I haven't had any major incidents in that time, fingers crossed. His faith was justified. Getting your driver's license is a rite of passage. But now Chris Bishop has announced a swathe of changes, the first to the testing regime since 2011 for drivers and for wannabe drivers, as he explained to Mike Hosking this morning. 

“Firstly, we know that younger drivers are more dangerous on the roads. We know that inexperienced drivers are more dangerous on the road. You add alcohol and drugs to that, it's a really toxic mix. So we've gone for a zero-alcohol rule for anyone on their learners and restricted. We've made sure that people under 25 spend longer on their learners as a default. They can lower that down by doing an approved driving training course, which again we know the evidence shows makes a difference.  

“And it's all about road experience, so that's why we've gone for a longer period of time at the front end in terms of spending time on your learners. But then at the other end, we don't think it makes a lot of sense to make people go and do a second practical test after they've been driving for a long period of time on their restricted and have got used to the road code and they've got that practical experience. We just didn't think it made sense to have people spend all the time and money to go and get a second test. Most countries don't do that, so we're bringing ourselves in line with that.” 

So, once you sit your practical on your restricted and get your restricted, no more second test. Longer time spent on the learner licenses for under 25s, so 12-month learner period, an increase of six months. You can reduce that learner period by six months if you record practice hours or complete an approved practical course. It'll be cheaper to get a full license, it will reduce by 80 bucks under the new system. If you get demerits, you'll face a further six months on your restricted. There'll be fewer eyesight screenings, so that will only be required at the first license application and at each renewal. Chris Bishop explained about the zero-alcohol rule, no learner or restricted driver will be able to have a drop of alcohol in their blood. And there'll be stronger oversight of the training providers. NZTA can suspend driver training course providers if they think there's something iffy going on.

So some good changes, but as the Driver Training Association told Ryan Bridge this morning, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I'd have liked to have seen a few more changes, like resitting your license at 60 and then 80. Like those who hold overseas driver's licenses having to sit a full test on New Zealand roads. Our roads are markedly different to those of other countries, our driving conditions are markedly different, so I would like to see anyone who holds an overseas driver's license having to sit a driver's license here. Like having to resit your license or go to traffic school if you're pulled over for three driving offences in a certain timeframe. I think we should have been tougher. It's a privilege, not a right, to be on our roads. I do like some of the changes, but I really would have liked to have seen the government go further. 

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