Driving licence issued by "mistake" to man who failed test

Minjie Yu holds his temporary drivers licence that was issued to him after passing his test only to be told 35 minutes later that he had actually failed. Photo / Dean Purcell

Minjie Ye was over the moon when he passed his driving test and issued with a temporary driver licence.

But the 33-year-old's joy was short lived after receiving a message from Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) 35 minutes later that he failed, and that the licence was issued in error.

Ye had taken his test for a full licence at Glen Innes with an instructor from VTNZ on May 29, 2017.

"The tester told me at the end of the test that I had made just one mistake, then he said congratulations and issued me with a temporary licence," said Ye, originally from China.

"This was my third attempt, and I am so happy because in New Zealand being able to drive is more a necessity than a luxury."

But before he could even firm up plans on how to celebrate, Ye received an email saying he had failed.

"I was so confused, I contacted VTNZ and I was told that they had given me a pass by mistake," he said.

"I find this really ridiculous and unacceptable, because my partner, who was my support person during the test, even verified with the tester that I had passed, and he said 'yes'."

The New Zealand Transport Agency said it was aware of other cases of driving licences being issued in error, but insisted they were "very rare".

Last year, the Herald reported that another man, 24-year-old Ravinder Singh, had also been issued with a temporary driver's licence by mistake.

Agency national operations manager Robyn Elston said the agency it had reviewed the circumstances of this case.

"We are following up with VTNZ to ensure steps are taken to reduce the likelihood of similar mistakes happening in the future," Elston said.

"We regret that this mistake has caused stress and inconvenience to Minjie and we will be contacting him directly to apologise."

Elston said that as test results are automated when recorded in the driver licence register, no data was available on how often licensing errors involving human error occurred.

"We are aware of similar cases, but they are very rare," Elston added.

VTNZ market development manager Sarah Garvin said the company has apologised to Ye for the error, which was made when he sat for his practical driving test.

"The test was completed using a tablet application and resulted in a failed test," she said.

"This was the official test result and cannot be altered by law."

Garvin said the testing officer made a mistake by issuing Ye with a temporary licence on the day.

"We have completed a review on the process testing officers take when issuing a temporary licence and are currently implementing changes to prevent this from happening again," Garvin said.

Ye has been offered a chance to re-sit his test at no additional cost.