A lethal mix: teenagers and cars

Speed and lack of experience behind the wheel can spell disaster. MATHEW DEARNALEY details the rules for teenage drivers - and the dangers.

Here comes Friday night and the weekend again - party time.

How many parents know where their teenager will be? More to the point, how many know how she or he got there, or intends to get home?

Plenty of young people on restricted licences are driving illegally late at night - carrying their friends in breach of their licence conditions.

Too often the results are tragic. Last year, 110 young people between 15 and 24 were killed in road smashes, almost a quarter of the overall toll of 464 people.

And hundreds are injured. In 1999, when 74 teenage drivers aged 15 or more were involved in fatal crashes, the age group was also involved in 1767 injury crashes.

The police catch thousands. They issued 10,736 infringement notices last year to restricted drivers.

And 6940 of those were booked for carrying unauthorised passengers.

These numbers probably represent only a fraction of offenders among about 132,000 restricted licence holders.

Drivers in the 15-to-19 age group are seven times more likely to crash, kilometre for kilometre travelled, than those in the safest category of 45 to 49 years.

Male drivers are almost twice as dangerous as women until they reach the 25-to-29 age group, when they become almost as safe as females.

A recent tragedy in which two 15-year-old girls and their 16-year-old male driver with a restricted licence were killed in a collision with a log-chip truck near Taupo has sent a message to parents everywhere.

Reporoa mother Cathy Anderson wants restricted licence rules to be better enforced, and is campaigning to warn parents to stop their children driving with inexperienced people.

Her 15-year-old daughter, Sarah, was one of the youngsters killed near Taupo.

rdWhy do young drivers crash? %Speed is the biggest culprit. Police invest%igators calculate that it accounts for 33.2 per cent of fatal crashes involving young drivers. That is more than twice the 14.1 per cent estimate for those 25 or older.

Alcohol and drugs are not far behind, accounting for 22.5 per cent of fatal crashes involving under-25s.

Drivers under 20 are restricted, regardless of what licence they hold, to an alcohol limit of just 30 milligrams for every 100 millilitres of blood, compared with 80mg/100ml for older licence holders.

The junior allowance is so small that the Land Transport Safety Authority warns young drivers that a single drink could push them over the limit.

Showing off is, surprisingly, listed as a contributor to just 1.3 per cent of crashes, although there are undoubtedly elements of youthful bravado in speeding or drink-driving.

rdWho gets killed by young drivers? Most passengers who die when drivers aged 15 to 24 years are at fault are young.

Of 140 passengers who died in such crashes between 1997 and 1999, only seven were known to be aged 30 or older, while 10 were younger than 15.

But 23 of 92 other road users killed in crashes where young drivers were to blame were aged 60 or over.

rdWhen do young drivers have crashes? Even though restricted licence holders are not allowed to drive between 10 pm and 5 am without supervisors (someone who has had a full licence for two years), young drivers are disproportionately involved in fatal crashes at night.

Weekends are dangerous. Fifty-three per cent of fatal crashes between 10 pm on Fridays and 6 am on Saturdays from 1997 to 1999 involved drivers aged 15 to 24.

And Saturday nights were not much better - the figure was 48.6 per cent.

Last year, the police issued 2796 infringement notices to restricted licensees driving unaccompanied between 10 pm and 5 am.

rdHow does the graduate driver licensing system work? Until 1987, full licences were issued to anyone 15 or older who could pass straightforward oral, written and practical tests.

The graduated system brought in three categories of licence that year - learner, restricted and full.

All those under 25 had to pass a written and oral examination, then wait for six months for a practical test, during which time they could drive only while supervised by someone holding a full licence.

Those who passed the practical test were issued a restricted licence, under which they could carry passengers, as long as they had a supervisor on board.

A curfew barring them from driving between 10 pm and 5 am without a supervisor, unless they had exemptions for work or other reasons, was a world first, and was copied by countries such as the United States, where it is credited with reducing road deaths.

The system was tightened in May 1999 to cover new drivers aged over 25 as well.

rdWhat other changes were made in 1999? A major new feature is an "exit" test for all restricted drivers graduating to a full licence, a 40-minute practical examination requiring high awareness of road hazards and speed limits.

Restricted drivers under 25 must wait for 18 months before applying for a full licence, or 12 months if they pass an approved defensive driving course.

Those 25 or older can apply for the full ticket after six months, or three months for defensive course graduates.

Learner drivers must not drive without a supervisor, or in a vehicle not displaying "L" plates, after passing a written test.

The only limit on how long people can drive on learner or restricted tickets is the 10-year term for all driving licences.

This has caused concern that some are lingering on the lesser licences, either in the mistaken - and potentially fatal - belief that they entitle them to full driving privileges, or for fear of failing the second and more rigorous practical test.

A pass rate of 73 per cent compares with 86 per cent reported in 1996 under the old testing system, but remains much lower than in Britain, where more than half those sitting for licences reputedly fail on their first attempt.

The full cost of $246 to pass through the entire system could also be a disincentive.

Transport Minister Mark Gosche is considering the duration of restricted licences in a general review of licensing, in which he is also looking at licence renewal costs for elderly and passenger transport drivers.

rdHow many drivers are licensed under the junior categories? There were 2,512,551 car-driving licences on the Land Transport Safety Authority's computer on April 2, of which 147,767 (5.9 per cent) had learner tags and 131,906 (5.2 per cent) were restricted.

rdWhat are the penalties for breaches? Penalties for breaching conditions of a learner or restricted licence were stiffened in 1999, to 25 demerit points and a $400 fine, or up to $1000 if a driver goes to court.

Previously, the only deterrent was an add-on to the time taken to get a full licence.

Drivers on restricted licences who are caught carrying passengers illegally a second time lose their licences.

rdWhat licences do those involved in fatal and injury accidents hold? Holders of learner licences were involved in 5.49 per cent of fatal and 6.62 per cent of injury accidents in 1999, according to Land Transport Safety Authority records.

Restricted licence holders were involved in 4.86 per cent of fatal accidents and 7.36 per cent of crashes in which people were injured.

rdHow many young people die on the roads each year? Road smashes claimed the lives of 57 teenagers aged 15 or older last year, and 53 of those aged between 20 and 24 - representing 23.7 per cent of an overall toll of 464.

This was down from 72 and 57 deaths in the two categories in 1999 and represented a huge improvement since the graduated licence scheme was introduced in 1987.

In that year, 154 youngsters aged 15 to 19 were killed, and 155 between 20 and 24.

Their total death rate of 309 represented 39 per cent of the 1987 road toll of 796 people.

But even in 1998, the most recent year for which international statistics are available, New Zealanders between 15 and 24 still had the third-highest percentage death rate of 25 surveyed countries.

rdHow does our minimum driving age of 15 compare with overseas? Automobile Association figures show only seven states of the United States and Alberta in Canada with a lower minimum age for supervised driving - 14.

British youngsters are not allowed behind the wheel until 17, while much of Europe, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain has a minimum age of 18.

Most Australian states allow supervised driving at 16, but it takes until 20 in Victoria, 19 in South Australia, and 18 in New South Wales to gain a full licence.

Successive public opinion surveys in New Zealand have shown keen support for raising the minimum age, but the previous National Government rejected a recommendation by the Land Transport Safety Authority in 1998 to increase it to 16.

This followed strong opposition from rural New Zealand, with its tradition of farm children learning to operate tractors, and driving long distances to school.

But the issue could re-emerge soon, with Mr Gosche expecting next month to issue a strategy document on road safety in the light of public submissions made last year.

The AA supported an increase to 16 in 1998, given that this is also the new minimum school leaving age.

But AA public affairs director George Fairbairn suggests that the association is not too unhappy with the status quo, given the time it takes to gain a full licence under the graduated system.

He says the AA would oppose a minimum age higher than 16, as the graduated system has a better chance of success when young drivers still live at home and can be supervised by their parents.

Despite the popular image of New Zealanders queuing for licences the day they turn 15 as a rite of passage to adulthood, LTSA figures show that 80 per cent hold back until they are at least 16.

Fifty-four per cent wait until they are at least 18.

rdWhat should parents do? Police advice for parents is to drive teens who might otherwise get a lift with an inexperienced driver.

Police national road safety manager Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald says turning a blind eye "doesn't work."

If another teenager has illegally given your child a ride, you should talk to his or her parents.