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Blairwnz
By Blairwnz | AA Member | 1 Post | 20 June 2011 at 8:06pm

Hi there Just wanting to know If im allowed to drive my girlfriend around on my Restricted License?

jbiddle
By jbiddle | Community Member | 1657 Posts | 21 June 2011 at 8:28am

Listed below are the conditions under which a restricted licence can be used taken from the NZTA website.

Unless your girlfriend has held their full licence for at least two years then I think the short answer is a definite no in your case.

What are the conditions for a restricted car licence?

  • You must always have your restricted licence with you when you're driving.

  • You can drive on your own, but not between 10pm and 5am. Between these times you must have a supervisor in the front passenger seat who holds a full New Zealand car licence, and has held it for at least two years.

  • If you sat the test in an automatic vehicle, your licence will say that you can only drive automatic vehicles.

  • You must not carry passengers unless you have a supervisor with you. The only passengers you can carry without a supervisor are:
    - your spouse or person you live with as if you were married, or with whom you are joined in civil union
    - children who live with you and are under the care of you or your spouse (you or your spouse are their parent or guardian)
    - relatives who live with you and who are on a social security benefit (domestic purposes, widow's, invalid's, unemployment or sickness)
    - someone you look after as their primary caregiver.

markstockdale
By markstockdale | AA Expert | 101 Posts | 22 June 2011 at 9:54am

Note, if you breach the conditions of your Restricted licence, you are not only liable for a $100 fine and 35 demerit points for each offence, but you also risk invalidating your insurance which means you won’t be covered for damage to your or any other car or property in the event of an accident.

The Restricted licence conditions aren't there to make life difficult for you, but to protect you as the first 6-12 months driving solo are the most dangerous of your driving career - see http://www.safeteendriver.co.nz/ for more information. You can also learn more about Restricted licences here.

To be on the safe side, the AA recommends that you sit your Full licence as soon as you can. Be warned that the age for sitting your Full licence will be increasing after the minimum (Learner) driving age rises to 16 (in August 2011). This means the Full licence age will increase from 16½ to 17½ if you complete an approved course like the Defensive Driving Course (or from 17 to 18 if you don’t).