Learner drivers in hurry to avoid tougher tests | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Young motorists in Wanganui are getting their driving tests booked in early before changes to the restricted driver's licence test.

The New Zealand Transport Agency will make the test more challenging from February 27, when the previously 30-minute test is extended to about 45 minutes.

The agency is recommending learner drivers get 120 hours of supervised practice in a variety of road conditions and situations before they sit the new test.

Drivers will have to deal with a wider range of conditions, including driving in a new minimum level of traffic, multiple lanes, and merge lanes within a 60-80km/h zone.

The changes follow research showing that young drivers who completed 120 hours of supervised practice had a solo-driving crash rate 40 per cent lower than those who completed 50 hours.

Wanganui's Drive Safe Drive School owner/operator, Jack Kennedy, said his appointment book was virtually full until the new-style tests began on the 27th.

Mr Kennedy said it was good that the test would be harder: "I'm on the road all day seeing silly things."

People were going to have to put more time and possibly more money into training. Driving to Palmerston North and back was not going to help people improve their skills at busy intersections, he said.

"There are going to be a lot of sad people that haven't done their homework, until they realise they have to do a lot more work to pass."

Mr Kennedy said he would know how strict the testing officers would be a couple of weeks after the new-style tests had begun.

AA driver training manager Karen Dickson said AA driving schools had been busier than normal country-wide.

"Quite a few" learners wanted to progress their licences to the last stage before the changes came into effect, she said.

The AA welcomed the changes to the tests, because they would lead to more experienced and competent drivers on the roads.

Those learners had done a flimsy job in their training would find it tough, she said.

The new test will comprise a 10- minute stage of relatively simple driving tasks in a less complex traffic environment, followed by 35 minutes of more challenging tasks in a moderately challenging environment.

A pre-drive vehicle safety check and feedback on performance at the end of the test would also be included.