Four-month waits
Extra costs to re-sit driver’s tests were scrapped by the last government eight months ago, reducing the cost to re-sit a full licence test by about $70, and by more than $50 to re-sit a restricted.
The extra cost to re-sit was seen as a barrier to getting a licence – but now long wait-times are the barrier.
In February and March 2023, it took just 11 days to get a test, but during the same period this year, the average waiting time for a full licence test has rocketed to about 49 days.
Since December, the national monthly average wait time has topped 40 days, each month.
Restricted licence tests are even worse – at or above 55 days wait for every month since February.
During the same period last year, the longest monthly wait time for a restricted was 15 days.
As recently as September, the month before re-sit fees were scrapped, the national average wait times for a full licence test was nine days – after October, it began climbing.
Drivers in South Auckland and Canterbury wait the longest for full licence tests at averages of 57 days and 54 days respectively, while wait times in Hastings and Taranaki were slightly less, at an average of 29 days.
NZ Institute of Driving Educators president Mark Revill-Johnson said the problem was that people were treating tests like a trail run.
“Since the removal of re-sit fees, more and more people are coming back who’ve previously failed. The demand on the system has increased, and because resits are free, people are sometimes not turning up, and turning up unprepared.”
Fees to re-sit back on the table
In a statement, Minister for Transport Simeon Brown said the problem was being addressed, with 26 extra testing officers hired since December, taking the total to nearly 200.
Additional theory test sites have been set up, hours for testing officers extended, and two more training courses for testing officers have been set up.
The Ministry was looking at further options to address the problem, one of which could be to reintroduce the re-sit fee.
Revill-Johnson said the fee is having an impact, but having access to drivers licences is still important – instead, he suggested funding driving lessons.
“If you fund the lessons, then the natural outcome is you get better prepared people, better prepared people pass tests easier, they also turn up for them because they feel confident. And the overall ongoing road safety benefit then is that you have safer drivers out on the road after a test.”
But that was of little comfort in the short-term for prospective drivers who continue waiting weeks or months to sit their test.
RNZ
