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Young drivers in rural areas will be disadvantaged by proposed changes for learner drivers, the Hurunui Youth Council says.
In a submission, the Hurunui Youth Council says a requirement for learner licence holders to complete 60 hours of supervised driving to reduce their learner licence period will create ‘‘inequity’’.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has completed a review of the graduated driver licensing system, with changes taking effect in January.
Under the changes, there will be no practical test for a full driver’s licence, while the learner licence period for under 25-year-olds will increase from six to 12 months.
This can be reduced to six months by completing an approved practical driving course or logging supervised driving hours.
The agency said the exact number of hours was still to be finalised, but 60 hours of supervised driving aligned with other countries.
But Hurunui Youth Council members Zinnea Cohen and Lexi Thomson-Hall said the new requirement worked out at 2.5 hours a week and would disadvantage young people in rural areas and low income families.
“For lower socio-economic families, or two parents working, makes it hard to get enough hours in a week, which has a large impact on rural rangatahi, who have no access to public transport,” Lexi said.
The longer wait could increase isolation for rural youth and have an adverse impact on mental health and wellbeing, while the cost of fuel was also a barrier, she said.
The Hurunui Youth Council was also concerned about the amount of information which needed to be recorded in log books.
Under the proposal, learners will need to record the date of the driving session, start and finish times and locations, the total minutes spent driving, the vehicle number plate, and start and finish odometer readings.
Supervisors will also need to provide their name, driver licence number and version number, and contact details.
The youth council’s submission was endorsed by the Hurunui District Council’s strategy and policy committee.
NZTA regulatory group general manager Mike Hargreaves said the changes were intended to support safer driving by giving learner drivers options to gain driving experience.
“Young drivers are over-represented in crashes and research shows more driving practice can reduce the crash risk.
“The changes will be balanced by the reduction of the restricted licence period from 18 to 12 months.”
Mr Hargreaves said the agency was reviewing the feedback before announcing the new requirements.
“We appreciate that completing a required number of supervised hours as a method to reduce the learner period may be more challenging for some learner drivers, and this is why there is another option available.”
NZTA was working to make driver training and testing more accessible for people in rural communities, including the rollout of community driver testing officers to more regions.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
