RTF welcomes Labour’s driving skills commitment

Road Transport Forum Chief Executive Ken Shirley has welcomed the commitment from the Labour Party to provide driving lessons for secondary school students.

“The lack of driver licences amongst young people is a really big issue for our industry,” says Shirley. “There simply are not enough young people coming through to drive the trucks needed to help grow the economy.”

“A major impediment for school leavers looking to get into our industry is that a growing number of them don’t even have a class 1 driver licence.”

“It is a very serious issue right across the economy, not just in road transport. A recent NZIER report showed only 10 percent of 18-24-year olds on jobseeker support had a full licence and nearly half had no licence at all.”

“While going from having a car licence to a class 5 heavy combination vehicle licence is a big step, it is nevertheless critical that school leavers are taught the basic road skills that can set them along that path.”

“I also invite Labour to commit to streamlining the unwieldy graduated licencing system, which successive governments have failed to address,” says Shirley.

ENDS

© Scoop Media