KEY POINTS:
The potential loss of their licence could be the incentive young drivers need to improve their compliance with the law, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven said today.
In a speech to mark the first United Nations Global Road Safety Week, Mr Duynhoven said road crashes were the biggest killer of young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
The causes of most crashes involving young people were "inexperience and immaturity".
Drivers between the age of 15 and 19 were seven times more likely to crash than drivers in the 45 to 49 age group. Drivers between 20 and 24 were three times more likely to crash than those in the 45 to 49 age group.
Mr Duynhoven said there was no single way to change the behaviour of young people.
"It has to be a combination of education, advertising and a penalty regime which is effective."
Young people were not complying with the graduated drivers licensing system, and they tended to ignore the $400 fines imposed because they could not pay them, Mr Duynhoven said.
"We are now looking at changing the demerit points system right across the board. This change could be one way of dealing with young offenders who persistently flout the law since the loss of licence is a real imposition."
Speed, coupled with inexperience, was another problem with young people and an interdepartmental group was looking at ways of targeting speedsters.
Mr Duynhoven has also applauded the idea of compulsory third party insurance.
"I believe a third party regime that charges premiums based on risk would restrict access of young and novice drivers to more powerful cars as they would be required to pay higher premiums to use such vehicles."
The Government in December released a road safety policy statement that set out the road safety problems New Zealand was facing, including with young and novice drivers, and offered a range of possible solutions which were being evaluated.
Mr Duynhoven said he expected to receive advice on a range of policy options in the next couple of months.
- NZPA
