ISSUE
Friday, August 22, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 73
The age for driving a motor vehicle legally in New Zealand will be raised from 15 to 16 from next week.
And the country’s 15-year-olds are all too aware of the change with the New Zealand Transport Agency reporting an increase of 13 per cent in the number of 15-year-old applicants since May, when the legislation passed.
In May 2010, 1769 15-year-olds applied for a learner’s licence. This year that figure was 2036. In June 2010, the number was 1959, this year 2180.
This last minute boost might be a worry for Transport Minister Steven Joyce who spearheaded the age increase to make young New Zealanders safer on the road.
Mr Joyce said improving the safety of young drivers is a priority for the Government as young drivers are disproportionately represented in fatal and serious crash statistics.
Young people (15-24 years) make up 14.6 per cent of New Zealand's population and 15 per cent of all licensed drivers, but in 2010 they were involved in around 35 per cent of all serious injury crashes.
Mr Joyce said crashes where young drivers were at fault resulted in 128 deaths and 697 serious injuries last year.
He said increasing the age to 16 struck a balance between ensuring “our young people have the maturity and the cognitive skills to get behind the wheel, and not unduly affecting their personal freedom”.
“While none of the new measures is a silver bullet on its own, together they will have a significant impact over time they will all help keep our most inexperienced drivers safer on the roads,” Mr Joyce said.
The zero blood alcohol limit for drivers under 20 is also not far from implementation, coming into force on August 7.
Restricted Licence tests will also get an overhaul in February next year to encourage more practice and strengthening the restricted licence test to encourage more practice.
The age for driving a motor vehicle legally in New Zealand will be raised from 15 to 16 from next week. And the country’s 15-year-olds are all too aware of the change with the New Zealand Transport Agency reporting an increase of 13 per cent in the number of 15-year-old applicants since May, when...
The age for driving a motor vehicle legally in New Zealand will be raised from 15 to 16 from next week.
And the country’s 15-year-olds are all too aware of the change with the New Zealand Transport Agency reporting an increase of 13 per cent in the number of 15-year-old applicants since May, when the legislation passed.
In May 2010, 1769 15-year-olds applied for a learner’s licence. This year that figure was 2036. In June 2010, the number was 1959, this year 2180.
This last minute boost might be a worry for Transport Minister Steven Joyce who spearheaded the age increase to make young New Zealanders safer on the road.
Mr Joyce said improving the safety of young drivers is a priority for the Government as young drivers are disproportionately represented in fatal and serious crash statistics.
Young people (15-24 years) make up 14.6 per cent of New Zealand's population and 15 per cent of all licensed drivers, but in 2010 they were involved in around 35 per cent of all serious injury crashes.
Mr Joyce said crashes where young drivers were at fault resulted in 128 deaths and 697 serious injuries last year.
He said increasing the age to 16 struck a balance between ensuring “our young people have the maturity and the cognitive skills to get behind the wheel, and not unduly affecting their personal freedom”.
“While none of the new measures is a silver bullet on its own, together they will have a significant impact over time they will all help keep our most inexperienced drivers safer on the roads,” Mr Joyce said.
The zero blood alcohol limit for drivers under 20 is also not far from implementation, coming into force on August 7.
Restricted Licence tests will also get an overhaul in February next year to encourage more practice and strengthening the restricted licence test to encourage more practice.
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