Stitches to the head is just one of the injuries testing officers have faced when a novice driver crashes on their practical driving test.
Whiplash, a shoulder injury and a back injury were the other injuries officers received doing their job over the last year, revealed information released from the NZ Transport Agency under the Official Information Act.
The report stated that four serious crashes had occurred in 2014 to 2015 while a driver was taking their restricted or full driving licence test. That number increased to six for the 2015 to 2016 financial year.
NZTA don't report on every crash as minor collisions are handled by the testing providers.
Out of the six crashes over the last financial year two were in Auckland and Canterbury and one happened in Waikato and Southern. Five of these testing officers received minor injuries with two needing medical attention and time off work.