NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s decision to scrap the fee for resitting driver’s licence examinations from October 1 has led to a surge in bookings for the tests.
There is now no fee to book, cancel or reschedule a test, meaning would-be licence-holders only have to pay an application fee.
As a result, many more people are sitting tests to move through the system towards a full licence, the agency says.
In October, the wait time for the restricted driver’s licence test in Otago and Southland was 25 days, a jump from eight days in October last year. By November, that had shot up to 46 days, well above the eight-day wait recorded in November 2022.
The national wait time was 17 days this October, compared with 10 days in October last year. In November, it increased again to 37 days, compared with 11 days in November 2022.
In light of the increased demand for driving tests, the transport agency is urging people to “put in the practice and preparation needed to pass driver’s licence tests the first time”.
The aim of scrapping the retesting fee is to encourage people to move through the driver licensing system towards achieving a full licence, NZTA land transport deputy director Neil Cook says.
This is with a view to improving overall safety on the roads.
Last month, it was reported that young Southlanders were failing learner licence tests more frequently than their peers around the country. However, they are more likely to ace their restricted and full licence tests.
At the time, Automobile Association Invercargill driving instructor Geoph Keach says most of his bookings are for people aged 16 to 18 who want to practise before their restricted licence test.
“There’s just no substitute for practice,” he says.
“Some people come to do the test, they might have only done four or five hours of driving, and they wonder why they can't pass the test. [That] is never enough practice to [do] the test because you’re just not confident enough.”
Practice needs to be regular, “not just once a week or once a fortnight”, he says.
“You need to be driving several times a week so that gets into your muscle memory.”
3 comments
Another piece of absolutely nonsensical legislation by the previous government.
Posted on 18-12-2023 17:51 | By Murray.Guy
The sooner the present government reverses this ludicrous decision the better as it penalizes those who put in the effort and incentivizes not putting in any effort, with the outcome that we are now witnessing. The failures are now totally choking up the opportunities for the legitimate, with the subsequent delays.
The price of failure
Posted on 20-12-2023 13:13 | By morepork
If you underestimate the requirements, don't put in the time, and fail, then you SHOULD incur a penalty. Sure, everybody wants a licence, but you have to EARN it. You do that by making sure you are competent and not a threat to other road users. Perhaps , if you need to pay another fee, it will make you think twice before sitting again. Good, competent drivers, even if inexperienced, are welcome on the roads; lazy, self-indulgent, incompetent drivers, are not. I agree with Murray, here.
@morepork......
Posted on 22-12-2023 10:01 | By groutby
.........yes I agree, and sadly perhaps it is a true sign of the way we seem to treat 'failure', inability or even lack of effort. Now we have resorted to offering as many attempts as necessary at many things and even offering financial incentive to do so, and in these days of 'it's all about me' (bordering on narcissism) I am sure we need to return to setting higher standards with perhaps setting a penalty for not achieving them, yup...such as needing to resit a driving test!...
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