Teens: stricter penalties needed

Ella Sussex (left) 16; John Ward, 16; Anahita Mukerjee, 16; and Holly Lowper, 17. Photo / Andrew Warner

The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to a group of four teenagers who all said they thought it was acceptable for sober restricted drivers to drive friends from a party.

Ella Sussex, 16, said teens treated their restricted licence as if they were fully licensed drivers and ignored the rules. She said licence breaches were happening more often since the driving age was raised from 15 to 16.

Holly Cowper, 17, said in many cases it was wrong for these drivers to break the law but it should be okay for them to drive their siblings around.

John Ward, 16, said most of the time teenagers got away with flouting their licence conditions. He said the penalties for breaches should be stricter.

Anahita Mukherjee, 16, said she often saw restricted drivers giving people rides and said it was a convenience thing.