Young drivers committing fewer offences, road deaths remain high

Young drivers are committing fewer driving offences than a decade ago, but road deaths remain high, according to new research from the Automobile Association.

The AA said between 2013 and 2024 overall rates of offending by 15 to 19-year-old licensed drivers fell by 41%.

Drunk and drugged driving offences fell by 58% and seat belt offences dropped by 52%.

AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said it was encouraging that more young people were following the rules.

"That's a real positive and demonstrates that we are heading in the right direction with the various road safety initiatives and legislative and policy changes that have been undertaken over time," he said.

This included the driving age being raised from 15 to 16, the introduction of a zero-alcohol limit for people under 20 and the toughening of the restricted licence test, Thomsen said.

"I think there's also been a bit of a cultural shift that's started to go on of a bunch of our younger drivers taking a few less risks and being a bit more careful," he said.

The AA's data also showed a reduction in the number of fatalities of young drivers on the roads.

New Zealand had a death toll of 16.6 road deaths per 100,000 licensed young drivers last year. This was compared to 19.7 deaths per 100,000 young drivers in 2023 and 22.5 deaths in 2013.

"Even though the picture is better, we still have the worst rates of road deaths amongst young people of any developed country, and people under 25 in New Zealand die from road crashes at a much higher rate than older age groups," Thomsen said.

"These figures show we need to be focusing on more than just enforcement to bring crash rates down even further."

Thomsen said this latest data was timely with the government considering changes to the graduated driver licensing system.

The government was proposing to remove the practical driving test needed to get a full car driver's licence, and reduce the number of eye tests required.

It was also proposing some new safety measures, including requiring drivers on a restricted to keep a clean driving record, halving the demerit threshold for learner and restricted drivers to 50 points, and a zero-alcohol limit for learner and restricted drivers of any age.

Any changes would be implemented in July 2026.

"The AA supports some of the changes being proposed, in particular extending the zero-alcohol limit to cover a learner or restricted driver and more consequences if people offend while novice drivers," Thomsen said.

"However, we also need to lift the level of practice, skills and training that young people have before they start driving solo to help reduce road fatalities.

"The learner and restricted stages of the licensing system are the ideal time to instil practices and habits that will keep novice drivers and others safe on the road."

The AA wanted three changes added to the government's driver licensing proposal:

rnz.co.nz