Up to 144,000 people on learner or restricted driver's licences will get a two-year reprieve from the risk of losing their licence if they don't graduate to the next level.
The Government will also look at additional programmes to help disadvantaged drivers to access the next licence stage, and have more driver training in schools.
The moves, announced today by Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter, are a response to a 2014 law change that brought in a five-year time limit on learner and restricted licences for cars and motorcycles.
It was meant to be an incentive for drivers to graduate to a full licence, which would also make them safer drivers.
But Genter said that it appeared to have failed - only 12% of those drivers had booked in a test to move to the next licence.
All learner and restricted licences set to expire by December 2021 - which affects about 144,000 people - will be given a two-extension so those drivers will not lose their licences.
There were many reasons why people did not move on to the next licensing stage, Genter said.
"Time-limited licences make sense in theory, but we also need to acknowledge that people without the resources, training, or support to pass these tests risk becoming unlicensed when time's up.
"Whether people are unaware their licence is time limited, or for other reasons, the current rate of learner or restricted drivers progressing to the next licence stage is too low."
- NZ Herald
Photo: Mark Mitchell
