Candor Trust PR

Marks is correct - what licensing system?

Candor Trust shares NZ Firsts concerns about the integrity of the NZ Driver licensing system. And again calls on the Childrens Commissioner to act.

The number of limited licences being granted by the courts suggests the application process is nothing short of an exercise in rubber stamping, according to Ron Mark.

'This adds new depth to the issue Candor lately exposed as regards well over 10% of passenger class drivers having had drink or drug driving convictions - and the Medical Fitness Office's extreme reluctance to intervene with diagnosed addicts'.

Figures released by the Minister for Courts yesterday show that for the each of the last three years, only 1 percent of applications for limited licences for suspended or disqualified drivers were turned down.

'While the decision to grant limited licences is made by judges, it cannot have been the intention of the legislation for 99 percent of applications to be granted' said Marks.

Candor Trust agrees the Government can not be serious about road safety when the Court system is being made a mockery of.

The Government must also investigate the increasing number of companies who are specialising in the ‘get your licence back’ industry said Marks.

A website of one such company claims it can ‘find’ hardship for their clients that could be characterised as extreme for the purposes of qualifying under the criteria.

Against this anarchic background on the licensing front it becomes all too easy to accept as normal stories such as that reported yesterday of a 2 year old being rescued from the vehicle of a very drunk disqualified driver.

As he had fortunately attempted to gas up at 9am in Rotorua.

'Like the methadone swilling mother who crashed at Springfield months ago straight after a concerned motorist pulled her child out of her clutches, this menace is likely to have felt if not been led to believe by soft courts that he'd a near inalienable right to drive'.

Despite the methadone crash occurring months ago and questions having been repeatedly been asked (and dodged) in Parliament, the dangerous patient as yet has not been charged due perhaps to protectionism of the methadone program.

Congratulations must go to the Rotorua Servo staff for their refusal to turn a blind eye and for the fact they did not hesitate to call Poluce to the crime scene.

'People do not have confidence in Transport Safety - how could they. We have bus crashes, drunk city bus drivers pulled off the job in Christchurch, potentially stoned ones crashing school buses in Auckland,' say Candor.

'We also have kids dangerously packed in to buses like sardines and their rural parents refusing to let them even board per recent newspaper reports'.

'Add to that several instances of methadone drivers jeopardising their children by driving stoned - it's a regular occurrence, and they are not aptly charged'.

If the Childrens Commissioner cares about kiwi kids she'll file the anti smacking bill for a rainy day and get on the job here as kids are 4 x as likely to die on the road due to intoxicated drivers endangering them than from direct abuse.

Candor Trust challenges the Commissioner to tackle the most significant child and road safety issues. They would not statistically fall under 'speed kills' theory.

Since 200 x as many kids are killed by impaired drivers far from schools as are killed by speeders in their vicinity.

The most significant child safety issues do not even remotely fall under 'excess' smacking or disciplin problems.

Other than the fact that there seems to be no disciplin at all shown by the Courts as regards impaired driving. Their main role appears to be encouraging it in effect.

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