Kamo High School Student Rachyl Edge sat and passed her restricted licence test in Whangarei recently and said she did find it easier than she expected.
"I found the restricted test quite easy," she said "Not many of my peers have their restricted but the ones that have, have in fact found the test easy too".
Miss Edge said she was asked to do a U-turn and parallel park during her test but said she thought she should have been required to do more.
The 16-year-old said she was unsure whether pass rates were related to test leniency and thought it could be due to drivers taking more care and being better prepared.
"I believe people are more wary drivers these days because they are more prepared from talking to people who have sat their restricted."
Miss Edge ensured she was well prepared for her test. She drove to and from school every day and drove around town in the afternoons at least twice a week.
"I only had one professional lesson as my instructor told me he couldn't teach me anything as I already knew how to do everything."
Pass rate numbers have steadily increased from a low of 15 per cent in 2012. The pass rate rose to 46 per cent in March 2013, then again to 61 per cent in March 2014.
On February 27, 2012, the restricted driving test was made harder and longer as part of an initiative by NZTA to make New Zealand roads safer. The age limit for getting a learner licence was also raised from 15 to 16.
Mr Hartwell said the low of 15 per cent in 2012 was due to a lack of people getting formal driving training.
"The initial drop in 2012 was because there may have been a bit of leniency before. Most people are taught by their parents but, as soon as the licence test got harder, people started going to instructors like myself."
Mr Hartwell said he believed the test needed to be made harder in order make New Zealand roads safer.
"I still don't think the test is hard enough. It needs a bit of attention to more details like more hazard identification in the actual restricted rather than just in the full licence test," he said.
According to the data, learner drivers across the country who sat their restricted test, passed at a rate of 58 per cent in March this year. This was a substantial increase from the pass rate of 38 per cent in March 2012.
AA Driving School general manager Nigel Clark said changes to the restricted licence test had had a positive outcome.
"Firstly the age was changed, so it was 15 and now it is 16. This is good because young people definitely develop better skills as they get older.
"And the test being harder means more people are taking professional instruction because they won't pass unless they do. That means you have people being taught in a better way. We are teaching three times more people per week than we were doing in 2012," he said.
Mr Clark said the figures were unfair to younger people as the pass rates for people from 16 to 20 were higher than their older counterparts. The pass rate for 55-59 year olds was 32 per cent while the pass rate for 18 year-olds was 57 per cent and was 60 per cent for 19 year-olds.
