Major changes to driver licenses
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Chris Bishop has announced some major changes to driver license testing. On the surface they look like very good ideas that will reduce costs and hurdles, but increase safety. The changes are:
- Only have a practical test when gaining your restricted licence. So you don’t need to do a second practical test for your full.
- Require drivers on their restricted licence to keep a clean driving record to progress to their full licence, for 18 months, with a zero tolerance for any driving offence.
- Halving the demerit threshold for learner and restricted drivers from 100 points to 50 points
- Introducing a zero-alcohol limit for learner and restricted drivers of any age
- Introducing a hazard perception test at the end of the learner stage
- Only require an eyesight test when you first get a licence, rather than at each stage of learner, restricted and full – which sometimes means three eyesight tests in 18 months
Great to see the Government looking to make things more rational in this area.
The AA have proposed an extra initiatives that could be considered:
- Require at least 60 hours of supervised practice before drivers can seek a restricted licence, with the option to reduce those hours by completing professional training or defensive driving courses.
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