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The success rate for the new restricted licence test is currently half the rate it was before the new test was introduced.
Ten weeks and nearly 9000 tests after the new tougher assessments were introduced to New Zealand the overall pass rate sits at 41 per cent down from the 80 per cent under the old test.
In the Waikato-Bay of Plenty region 33 per cent of people passed the new test in March and 42 per cent passed in April.
NZTA spokesman Andy Knackstedt says they are not surprised with the drop and it only shows learner drivers need more experience before they sit the test.
“We certainly expected the pass rate would drop with the introduction of the more challenging test.
“The whole point was to make it more challenging.”
In the long term Andy says he expects the pass rate to gradually increase as learner drivers come to grips with the new test and put in the extra preparation.
Obviously, each individual case will have its own reasons, but generally speaking learner drivers are sitting their tests with too few hours of driving under their belts, he says.
Andy advises learners to have a minimum of 120 hours driving practise before booking their test and to take advantage of the free practise programmes available online.
Road crashes are the single biggest killer of teenagers in New Zealand, according to NZTA.
NZTA crash statistics show that more than 700 Kiwi teenagers have died in road crashes in the past decade, with an average of one teenager killed on New Zealand roads every week in recent years
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Posted on 14-05-2012 13:01 | By pomfart
It’s about time the test was tougher. Judging by the standard of driving I’ve encountered in NZ, the previous test must have involved just writing your name on the license. It’s one extreme to the other - morons screeching about like they’re in a race to fools who stop at every roundabout for no reason. Take a hard look at yourself NZ. I think it’s a cultural thing, you know, the "she’ll be right" macho attitude.