A driver licensing review is “long overdue,” according to Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley.
The government has released a discussion paper which puts forward four options that will potentially restructure the current system.
Moving the license renewal system online and streamlining heavy and specialist endorsements are particular areas of focus.
In 2015, there were 238,000 licence applications and 294,000 renewals.
“For 15 years the Road Transport Forum has pushed the Ministry of Transport to review the current driver licence system for heavy vehicles,” said Shirley, labelling the current system a major impediment to attracting new drivers to the transport industry.
“The discussion paper present four options, two of which are really only variations on the status quo, however options three and four address a number of the industry’s concerns and show considerable promise.
Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss says proposed driver licensing changes will improve the system while maintaining high safety standards.
“A lot has changed since the current driver licensing system was introduced in 1999. While fundamental elements of the system such as the photo driver licence and minimum licensing age are not part of this review, there are a number of opportunities to modernise processes and improve efficiency,” said Foss.
He said that there’s an expectation for government services to be online, adding that it would save drivers, businesses and the government money.
With one of the most world’s most complex systems for HT licensing, Shirley says two of the options “address a number of the industry’s concerns and show considerable promise.”
The preferred option from the government’s perspective would remove the ‘rarely used’ class 3
and wouldn’t require learner licences for classes 4 and 5. A theory test would be retained for class 5 and drivers would be able to drive larger vehicles without supervision.
Independent analysts have estimated the net benefit of that option could be up to $44.3 million over 20 years.
Compliance costs would also be dramatically reduced.
Submissions close 2 June 2016. The discussion document and submission form are available at transport.govt.nz/dlr
