Teens in breach of driving licence rules

Wairarapa teens are being urged to stick to their driver licence conditions, after new research suggests many are breaking the law - often with their parents permission.

A New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) survey of 574 parents found nearly half of teen drivers on learner or restricted licences have broken at least one graduated licensing condition.

Almost 50 per cent of parents surveyed said their teen had driven unsupervised with friends in the car, while 17 per cent allowed it to happen at least once.

Just over a third of parents surveyed said their teen had driven after 10pm without a supervisor while on their restricted licence, with 16 per cent allowing it to happen at least once.

Wairarapa has 574 teen drivers aged between 16 and 19 on learner licences and 532 on restricted licences, according to NZTA July figures.

Masterton Driving School owner Jackie Hall said as far as she was aware, her students were following the rules, but she was not surprised by the survey results.

She had noticed teen drivers in the community breaching their licence conditions.

"They'll have a passenger with them when they're not supposed to."

Automobile Association driving training manager Karen Dickson said she was surprised and disappointed by the survey's findings.

"We think that's a shame because the rules are put there to protect us all."

NZTA road safety director Ernst Zollner said a range of measures introduced in recent years had helped to cut the number of fatal and serious injury crashes involving teenage drivers from 475 in 2008 to 257 last year. But it was important that young drivers complied with their graduated licensing conditions to acquire the skills and maturity needed to become safe drivers.

New Zealand's graduated licensing system requires learner drivers to be supervised at all times when driving, while drivers on a restricted licence cannot carry passengers or drive between 10pm and 5am without the supervision of a fully licensed driver.

"These conditions are not random - they are based on a wealth of research and analysis, and they specifically address the driving behaviours which most put young people at risk of crashing," Mr Zollner said.