|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Automobile Association has welcomed the Government’s overhaul of the driver licensing system, saying the move to a longer learner licence period for young drivers puts experience and safety ahead of speed.
From January 2027, learner drivers under 25 will be required to spend at least 12 months on a learner licence, double the current six-month minimum, with the option to progress sooner by completing a set number of supervised driving hours or approved professional training.
The changes form part of a wider update to New Zealand’s Graduated Driver Licensing System, which also removes the full licence practical test, tightens consequences for offending on a restricted licence, and expands the zero-alcohol limit to all learner and restricted drivers.
AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen says the package strikes a good balance between affordability and safety.
“The Government wanted to make it cheaper and easier for people to get to a full licence and the removal of the full test will achieve that,” Thomsen says.
“They’ve also listened to the sector by introducing changes that should lead to better prepared, safer young drivers as well. The overall package of changes strikes a good balance in the AA’s view.”
Shift from original proposal welcomed
Extending the default learner period to 12 months while actively encouraging meaningful supervised practice was a shift from the Government’s original proposal, and something the AA had pushed for during consultation.
Thomsen told the Franklin Times the AA raised the issue directly with officials during the 2025 consultation process.
“We told the Government in mid-2025 that we wanted to see a longer learner period,” he says.
Exactly how many supervised hours or what professional training will be required to shorten the learner period is still to be decided.
Those operational details will be developed by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi in the coming months.
“We’ll be talking with NZTA about the finer details, including who can provide approved driving courses,” Thomsen says.
“We assume it will include things along the lines of the AA Defensive Driving Course, where professional instructors can help learners develop skills in ways a parent or caregiver might not be able to.”
Overseas evidence points to safer outcomes
Thomsen says international evidence strongly supports mandatory supervised practice.
“When we looked overseas, most comparable countries require between 60 and 120 hours of supervised driving,” he says.
“The research shows that countries which introduced 60 hours or more of supervised practice have seen significant reductions in crash numbers.”
He stresses supervised hours do not have to involve paid driving lessons.
“It just means a learner driving with someone who holds a full licence,” he says.
He says in many places overseas this is logged through a government-supplied app that records both the driver and supervisor’s time and can’t be short-circuited.
Thomsen points to New South Wales’ Roundtrip Learner Logbook app as an example, saying similar tools could work well in New Zealand.
“People can’t sit in their lounge at night and clock up three hours of practice time,” he says.
Young drivers under-prepared under current system
AA survey data shows many young New Zealand drivers currently get limited practice before driving solo.
A recent AA Research Foundation survey found about half of drivers under 25 had less than 40 hours of supervised practice before sitting their restricted test, with nearly one in five reporting fewer than 15 hours.
“If you compare New Zealand with just about every similar country, we’ve allowed people to get their licences with the least amount of work and time required,” Thomsen says.
“Most other countries generally have a one- to two-year learner period.”
He says the highest crash risk in a driver’s lifetime occurs in the first few years of solo driving.
“It will mean more time and effort for learners and their supervisors, but the payoff should be better prepared drivers and fewer crashes.”
Strong support for tougher rules
The AA also supports the expanded zero-alcohol limit for learner and restricted drivers and tougher consequences for rule-breaking.
“That’s a no-brainer,” Thomsen says.
“This group has the highest crash rates. Clear boundaries and consequences matter, and these changes help reinforce that the rules are important.”
Under the new system, restricted drivers who remain offence-free for 12 months will automatically progress to a full licence. Drivers who commit offences carrying demerit points will have an additional six months added to their restricted period, with further extensions for repeat offending.
High toll from young-driver crashes
According to Ministry of Transport data, New Zealand sees about 90 deaths and 600 serious injuries each year from crashes where a young driver is judged to be at fault.
“Our road safety statistics speak for themselves,” Thomsen says.
“Compared to Australia, our 18- to 24-year-olds are nearly three times more likely to die on our roads. If we matched Australia’s rate, around 20 young lives could be saved every year.”
The AA is encouraging families and supervisors to make the most of the strengthened learner period.
“The learner and restricted stages are a golden opportunity to shape lifelong driving habits,” Thomsen says.
“Time alone doesn’t make safer drivers, experience does.”
