More investment needed in young driver training – youth union movement

The New Zealand youth union movement, Stand Up, has today released its policy statement on driver licensing in response to the Government’s likely move to raise the New Zealand driving age to 17.

National convener James Sleep says a rise in the driving age will hurt young New Zealanders and their families who rely on their ability to drive in order to access key community services and employment.

“We acknowledge that young people between the ages of 15-18 are sadly disproportionately represented in road casualty statistics. We strongly believe that any changes to driver licensing laws in New Zealand must not restrict young people's ability to access work, education and community activity.”

In New Zealand, there is currently no comprehensive cheap or free driver training available to new drivers. Stand Up proposes that in order to balance young people’s needs to access work, education and community activities with young driver safety, the Government should invest in driver training.

“We believe that simply raising the driving age is a blunt instrument that will not address the problem of young drivers dying on our roads. We suggest investment in stronger training provisions to ensure young people have access to cheap or free comprehensive professional driver training.”

Stand Up believes that raising the New Zealand driving age will have negative implications on the social, economic and educational fabric of many New Zealand communities if such a move by the Government will result in thousands of young people losing the ability to access work, education and community activity.

ENDS

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