The AA Research Foundation today released a study into driver licensing aiming to help address New Zealand’s tragically high youth road death toll.

New Zealand drivers and motorcyclists under 25 years old are involved in more than a quarter of our fatal crashes. 18-24 year olds here are nearly three times more likely to die on the roads than young Australians.

The study, undertaken by the University of Adelaide’s Centre Automotive Safety Research (CASR) for the AA Research Foundation, benchmarks New Zealand’s three-stage Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS) against overseas schemes. It identifies a number of measures with beneficial outcomes for novice drivers that could be used to strengthen New Zealand’s licensing system.

With the Government to establish its priorities for the next three years in its Road Safety Objectives Document later this year, AA Research Foundation manager Dylan Thomsen says driver licensing should be looked at as a part of this review.

“The current system is good, but it could be better with young people overrepresented in crash data,” he says.

The latest Ministry of Transport figures show young drivers under 25 were involved in nearly a third - 96 of 337 – of fatal crashes in 2022. They were judged to be responsible for 82 of them.

“New Zealand could be doing more to prepare novice drivers, and we think licensing should be looked at as a key component of the upcoming road safety plan. We’re not saying it needs a total overhaul, but there’s no harm in looking for areas where we could do better.”

“The licensing system is about making sure people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to be safe on the road and investigating potential ways to improve the scheme is a no-brainer,” Dylan says.

“We know that access to supervisors and vehicles can be difficult for some, as can the cost of progressing through the licensing system, so potential changes would need to be considered from all angles. Maintaining a fair system that makes driving easily attainable to everyone needs to be balanced with an ambition to reduce road related harm and deaths.”

Some approaches to licensing overseas as highlighted in the AARF study

(1) Extended learner period:

• Several Australian states have a minimum learner’s period of 12 months - double New Zealand’s minimum six-month period - which gives novice drivers more time to accumulate supervised driving experience and develop safer practices.

(2) Mandatory supervised driving hours:

• Several countries require learners to complete a certain number of supervised driving hours before being able to drive alone. Most Australian and US states require 50 to 120 hours (including night hours) - these help drivers gain experience under different conditions. More time behind the wheel as a learner is acknowledged to improve a driver’s readiness for solo driving.  A past Swedish study showed novice drivers with 120 hours of supervised driving experience were involved in 35% fewer crashes than those with 40 to 50 hours.

(3) Hazard perception test:

• Hazard perception tests are a prerequisite for progressing from a learner to a restricted license in several jurisdictions. This is in use in Australia and the UK to enhance young drivers' abilities to anticipate and react to potential hazards. The tests are undertaken in a safe environment such as a simulator or using video clips.

(4) Zero blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit until full licence:

• In New Zealand only novice drivers under the age of 20 are subject to a zero BAC limit. There is a zero-alcohol limit in all Australian states for learner and restricted drivers regardless of age.

(5) Tougher penalties for traffic offenses:

• In New Zealand all licence holders accumulate the same number of demerit points before losing their licence, but in Australia, novice drivers have a lower threshold and any offences stay on their record for a longer period of time. Increasing the severity of penalties for traffic violations committed by novice drivers could act as a deterrent against risky behaviours.

“This study provides a good starting point for an investigation into how our licensing system might be improved,” Dylan says.

“We should be open to exploring different ideas that have the potential to produce drivers with skills and behaviours that make our roads safer.”

The full research report is available online at: https://www.aa.co.nz/about/aa-research-foundation/programmes/

Ends

For more information contact:

Dylan Thomsen
Road safety spokesperson
New Zealand Automobile Association
Mob. 027 703 9935