Rural area tests not the answer

• Published date: 26 April 2024
• Publication title: Bay of Plenty Times

According to data released by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, pass rates in 2023 were significantly lower in Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Wellington than elsewhere in the country

Auckland’s pass rates were the worst, with just 49.2 per cent of applicants passing their restricted test and 55.7 per cent passing their full.

In Bay of Plenty, 50.9 per cent of applicants passed their restricted and 59.4 per cent passed their full, while in Wellington, pass rates were 51.9 per cent and 59.8 per cent respectively.

Aotearoa’s pass rates were highest in Taranaki, where 70.6 per cent of applicants passed their restricted and 77 per cent of applicants passed their full driver’s licence tests.

Gisborne was the place with the second-highest percentage of restricted licence passes, at 68.2 per cent, while the West Coast had the second-highest percentage of full licence passes at 75.9 per cent.

New Zealand Institute of Driver Educators president Mark Revill-Johnson told Checkpoint testing officers in big cities and rural towns were “very consistent” in they way they marked across the criteria.

He said if someone from Auckland was to drive to a more rural area in the hope it would increase their chances of passing, it might actually do the opposite.

“Smaller towns do tend to have these sort-of out of context traffic environments. If you’re not familiar with them, you can just as easily find yourself in difficulty with one of those.

“When you’re driving around in an unfamiliar area...