Greg Murphy to Julie Anne Genter: NZ's road safety priorities are 'broken'

Driving for Change Hawke's Bay advocate Anna Lorck (left), with road safety advocate Greg Murphy will travel to Parliament to discuss our "broken driver licensing system". Photo / Warren Buckland

Motorsport legend and road safety advocate Greg Murphy heads to Parliament today to try to fix what he says is New Zealand's "broken driver licensing system".

Murphy is meeting with the Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter and says he will raise serious concerns.

He says more resources are needed to provide drivers with a much better "toolbox" of skills, including some specific practical training.

"The message is simple, we must improve how New Zealanders are driving or more people will keep dying on our roads," Murphy said.

"Despite everyone working hard on the ground doing a very important job, it's the system and the process, how it's designed and resourced that's letting us down."

When Murphy meets with the Minister, he goes with the support of a crew from Hawke's Bay, his home region.

"We want to work with the decision-makers and meeting with the minister is an opportunity to talk with her first hand about how and why we know the system is not working.

Murphy says road safety has been important to him for a long time and arose from media requests asking for his opinion on why so many people were dying on New Zealand roads.

"I became more and more aware of how ridiculously unnecessary a lot of this was because it's just down to not knowing and making decisions they shouldn't."

As a father, Murphy's son Ronan has been on a restricted licence.

"I know the system is not preparing or teaching him to be a safer, more aware and skilled driver, it's only focused on how to pass a test," he said.

"New Zealand is spending millions on road safety improvements, but the greatest investment our country can make to start beating the road toll now is helping people become better, safer, more skilled and aware drivers.

"It's drivers behind the wheel who are making poor decisions. They make mistakes and people die, and the cost of death and injury is horrific," he said.

In Hawke's Bay, there are 20,000 learner and restricted drivers in the system with about half over the age of 25.

Murphy said in Hawke's Bay the cost of gaining a full driver's licence was conservatively estimated at about $1000 which he said put it out of reach of many.

On top of the direct costs, there was also a productivity cost to employers of unlicensed staff and the unemployment costs for those unable to find work.

Driving for Change Hawke's Bay advocate Anna Lorck said a driver's licence was a fundamental life skill.

"Regions like ours have limited public transport.

"We've got some employers going around picking up their staff to get them to work, but for most, until we can get a more affordable and accessible system, trying to get a driver's licence remains one of the biggest roadblocks to getting a job."

The system is also disadvantaging people based on where they live and if they can afford it, she said.

"Those in our rural communities like Wairoa and Central Hawke's Bay are even more disadvantaged, having to arrange for themselves and someone who has had a licence for more than two years to take up to a whole day off to travel to sit the restricted test," she said.

On behalf of Driving for Change, which is working to increase the number of Hawke's Bay youth with driver's licences, Murphy has been asked to see if the minister will consider Hawke's Bay as a focus region for improving driver licensing training and testing.