Graduated driver’s licence proposed

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 4

Graduated driver’s licence proposed

PA Wellington A new graduated driver’s licence may be introduced to combat what the Minister of Transport, Mr Prebble, calls the lethal combination of youth and driving inexperience. Outlining the proposal yesterday, Mr Prebble said that merely raising the age at which it was possible to get a licence was too simplistic. “What we need on our roads are drivers who have better safety skills,” he said. A third of male drivers and more than a fifth of female drivers who gained their licence at 15 would be involved in at least one accident before they were 20, in which someone was injured or killed, he said. The proposal requires an extended period of training

under supervision and then a further period with conditions. It will begin with a learner stage lasting six months. After passing a theory and vision test an applicant over 15 would then be issued with a learner permit, allowing him or her to drive under the conditions: Permit to be carried; must be accompanied by a full licence holder who is in charge; and effectively a zero bloodalcohol limit. After the completion of that stage the applicant then undergoes a practical test. If successful, he or she is issued with a restricted licence which allows the holder to drive under the following conditions: Restricted licence to be carried; no late night driving without adult super-

vision; no passengers without adult supervision; effectively a zero blood-alcohol limit A full licence will be issued at the completion of the restricted stage, which lasts 12 months, without further test. Penalties for violation of the restricted stage conditions will be an extension of that stage or by prosecution in the case of persistent violators. Mr Prebble said 15-year-olds would no longer be able to drive without knowing the road code. At the learner stage, professional tuition would be used . as an incentive to reduce the six-month period. A similar incentive would be offered in the second stage to learners who took defensive driving courses or advanced driving tuition. Most young people were

taught to drive by their parents, which resulted in bad driving habits being passed on from generation to generation, he said. The Ministry of Transport was also revising the format and questions in the driving test and would introduce a new-style road test over the next two years. The new test, which has had a trial in Wellington, puts greater emphasis on road craft skills than on manual vehicle manoeuvring skills. The proposal will go before Parliament’s new Communications and Road Safety Select Committee. Mr Prebble said he did not think it would be possible to introduce the new system before next year. He said anyone who got a licence before the starting date for the new system would not be affected. Whether adult learners would be subject to the same restrictions, and, if not, at what age the graduated system would not apply, had still to be determined. Mr Prebble also said the Ministry was concerned about the accident record of motor-cyclists. A report from the motor-cycle safety advisory committee which made recommendations for improving the training and licensing of motor-cyclists would be released next week.