Would-be drivers rush to book | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

Staff at Tauranga's driver testing facility are under pressure as people rush to book their test ahead of a law change making it harder to get a restricted licence.

Tauranga AA in Devonport Rd has been inundated with young people wanting to book for their restricted driving test before the law change on Saturday, February 25.

Drivers won't be affected by the law, however, until Monday, February 27.

AA district manager Heather Jurgens said no spots were available for restricted driving tests before the law change and the next available date to sit a restricted test was in March.

The normal wait time to sit a practical test at the Tauranga AA was two weeks but the wait time was slightly longer at the moment, a direct result, Miss Jurgens said, of more people booking their restricted driving tests. "We have noticed a high number of people coming into the centre to do their bookings, especially as it has been school holidays as well. A lot of the kids have indicated that they have come in because of [the change in licensing rules]."

Tauranga driving instructors have felt the pressure to get drivers up to standard as people rushed to take their driving test.

April McRae from April's Driving School had been "really busy" over the past month. "During the holidays is always a busy time but even more so now things are very busy," she said.

Anita Smart of Blackfoot Driving School said the start of the year was one of her busiest and the looming change meant demand for driving lessons had increased. "Every year around this time is busy and everyone tends to go a bit mad before school or university. It's hard to say how many we've had in the past week. You never really know because you have busy weeks and slower weeks." But more people were wanting lessons and some were panicking to get in before the 27th.

BOP Driving School's Jeroen van der Beek has taught more than 100 people to drive in his two years as a driving instructor. He said the last month had "really picked up" but the current economic climate had affected his business.

"I have noticed a little bit of a rush with people who want to do their test before the rules change but it certainly hasn't been as big of a rush as last year when they changed the age from 15 to 16.

"I don't think there's the same awareness out there at this stage as there was."

He said most people who were getting lessons were young drivers and a few older drivers who wanted to get their full licences. "I went out on a lesson [yesterday] morning with a lady who had her restricted for several years and she was rushing to do her test because she was aware it was about to get harder.

"There are some big changes in the new test which is going to make it a lot closer to what the full test is like. There will be more emphasis on the open highways and hazard identification."

COMMON MISTAKES DRIVERS MAKE
 

• Infrequent mirror use.
• Not checking blind spot.
• Going too fast, particularly young males.

- Source: BOP Driving School

TAKING THE NEW TEST
 

• The test comprises two stages and is expected to take about one hour to complete. It includes:
• Conducting a pre-drive vehicle safety check.
• A 45-minute practical drive.
• Feedback to applicants on their performance at the end of the test.

THE ON-ROAD PRACTICAL TEST IS MADE UP OF TWO STAGES

Stage 1 takes 10 minutes and is a set of relatively simple driving tasks conducted in a less-complex traffic environment.

Stage 2 takes 35 minutes and is designed to assess applicants' ability to perform more-challenging tasks in moderately challenging environments.