Tougher driving tests to be introduced next month

The introduction of tougher practical driving tests for restricted licences in a bid to improve road safety for young novices behind the wheel has produced its first casualties - Mosgiel and Wanaka have been dropped as test venues.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is bringing in tougher practical driving tests on February 27 to try to improve the country's youth-driver road accident rate.

NZTA chief executive Geoff Dangerfield said because of the more challenging driving test, learners were being encouraged to complete about 120 hours of supervised practice before they sat their tests.

"The new test is aimed squarely at raising the standard of driving for young people in order to reduce needless deaths and injuries on our roads," he said.

The new restricted test will take place in a more complex driving environment, including minimum and busy levels of traffic, multiple lanes and merge lanes within a 60kmh-80kmh speed zone.

New testing routes have been developed at 52 practical assessment sites around the country to ensure a "consistently high standard" was being applied, he said.

The changed nature of the practical test has meant 36 existing test sites have been dropped from the restricted licence location roster, including Mosgiel and Wanaka, in Otago.

Mosgiel processed 320 restricted licence driving tests last year, while Wanaka did 57.

Waimate and Te Anau are also dropped from the list.

Wanaka driving instructor Lyal Cocks, the deputy mayor of the Queenstown Lakes, said the changes made it more logistically challenging for learner drivers in the Upper Clutha district.

"It does disadvantage a lot of people. Driving conditions in Wanaka can sometimes be far more challenging than in Alexandra," he said.

However, where the tests were held was somewhat irrelevant given drivers should be able to handle all conditions and the issue was more one of logistics, he said.

Ace Academy of Driving director Clive McKane, of Mosgiel, said the changes would make it difficult for local drivers, but would benefit safety.

"It will certainly make it harder and I'll be taking drivers into Dunedin now to practise lane changes and the like.

"It is not a bad thing and will raise the bar," he said.

Mr Dangerfield said road crashes were the single biggest killer of teenagers in New Zealand and "our teen crash rates are among the worst in the developed world".

"That's a situation no-one should accept."

- matthew.haggart@odt.co.nz

Getting on the road
Practical tests for restricted licences are to get tougher from February 27. Features of the new test include.
- A longer test time; about an hour.
- A more consistent and wider range of traffic situations.
- Introduction of critical errors for serious driving behaviour.
- Retention of an immediate failure category for illegal and/or unsafe driving.
Source: NZTA