Daily limit on re-sitting learner driver’s test to put brakes on demand

By RNZ

People who fail their learner driver’s licence test twice in a day will soon have to wait 10 working days before they can resit the test.

Transport Agency Waka Kotahi will introduce the stand-down period from Monday to manage increased demand and reduce wait times.

It follows a change introduced in October, that brought in an all-in-one fee for each stage of a driver’s licence, which removed resit fees, prompting a hike in people sitting their learner’s test.

But it has meant many people are choosing to re-sit a theory test more than once in a single day.

NZTA land transport deputy director Neil Cook said some people were turning up to sit a learner test without having read or learnt the road rules and then clogging up available test slots, impacting other applicants.

Tests must be booked in person at AA and VTNZ sites.

“Introducing a stand-down period after two failed attempts on the same day means more testing slots will be available for others, and may encourage applicants who fail tests to better prepare for their next attempt,” Cook said.

It will apply to people who attempt to book more than two learner tests on the same day.

“We’ll monitor the learner licence resit bookings closely, and will remove the stand down period when demand drops,” Cook said.

“The number of learner licence tests available on any day is determined by the number of computer terminals and staff available to supervise testing,” he said.

“Many people are currently failing a learner test then waiting for the next available slot, failing again, then using the next available slot, which clogs up the number of available tests at a site.”

Applicants must answer at least 32 of 35 randomly selected questions correctly based on the Road Code to get their Class 1 learner licence.