Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Drivers hit hard by tough licence tests

By Mike Barrington and APNZ
Northern Advocate·
2 May, 2014 06:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Figures show 42pc rate of failure for Northlanders

Sarah Mahanga's four attempts at obtaining her restricted driving licence have ended in tears.

The 19-year-old Onerahi woman is among nearly half of Northland learner drivers failing their restricted licence tests under a tough testing regime brought in to improve road safety.

The testing regime introduced in February 2012 has faced criticism for its high failure rates and inconsistencies between testing officers. But a Whangarei driving instructor says more difficult testing has improved local driver competence "ten-fold".

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) figures released to the Northern Advocate show between February 2012 and April this year, 3240 learner drivers in Northland passed their restricted tests, while 2027 failed. Of those going for their full licence, 2600 passed and 2226 failed. The figures include multiple failures by individual applicants.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The figures for Northland follow a similar national trend where nearly half or just over half of learner drivers are failing their restricted licence tests.

Ms Mahanga said she had been gutted and burst into tears after failing her restricted driving test four times over the past three years.

"I wasn't the only one. Others were coming away from their tests crying too," she said.

She paid $130 for her first test, which the testing official had refused to carry out because the car she was using had a dim stoplight. Her second attempt had failed because the driving course she was on had failed to provide a car in time for her test. A different course prepared her for her third attempt, in which she had failed the practical driving test. Her fourth test, which cost $60, was also failed because of a faulty vehicle light.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"My nerves failed me every time," she said. "I was confident at first, but I'm not now. I had a job when I started, but now I'm going to have a baby and I'm living on a benefit. If I sit my licence and fail it will be money down the drain."

St John Driving Academy instructor Peter Aben said the ability of Northland drivers had increased "ten-fold" since practical testing was tightened up.

"A lot of restricted drivers now drive a lot better than most full [licensed] drivers because their skill level is being lifted so high to pass that test."

Many passing the tests before the changes probably shouldn't have scraped through, Mr Aben said.

Overall, Northland drivers were more likely to fail because of nerves rather than incompetence.

"The test itself is difficult ... [but] they are a lot more lenient than they were when it first started a couple of years ago."

The NZTA has defended the system, saying nearly 60 per cent pass the restricted test on the first attempt, and overall the pass rate is more than 50 per cent.

The more challenging restricted test was introduced to improve the safety of young and novice drivers, NZTA said. Among other proposed changes is a five-year limit on holding a learner or restricted licence.

Drivers who do not progress within the time limit would need to resit their theory or practical test. NZTA and Northland instructors

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales
Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP