WEBVTT - Driver licence overhaul: Should 60 hours of supervised driving be mandatory?

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<v Speaker 1>Gilda. I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page,

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<v Speaker 1>a daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald. The

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<v Speaker 1>Government is keen on making it easier to get more

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<v Speaker 1>drivers on our roads. If proposed changes announced this week

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<v Speaker 1>go through. The second practical driving test required for a

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<v Speaker 1>full license will be scrapped and the number of eyesight

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<v Speaker 1>tests needed will be reduced, with new safety measures being

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<v Speaker 1>introduced as well. It comes as the government continues with

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<v Speaker 1>its pledge to reverse Labour's blankets speed limit reductions, something

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<v Speaker 1>National campaigned on. But will a more affordable driver's license

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<v Speaker 1>system and higher speed limits in some areas make our

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<v Speaker 1>roads any safer. Today on the Front Page, we're joined

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<v Speaker 1>by AA Road Safety spokesperson Dylan Thompson to discuss the

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<v Speaker 1>government's latest plans for our roads. So, Dylan, the proposal

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<v Speaker 1>on changes to how you actually achieve your full license

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<v Speaker 1>is out for public consultation. It includes new safety measures

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<v Speaker 1>like a clean driving record of restricted drivers, harving the

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<v Speaker 1>demerit threshold and introducing a zero alcohol limit for learner

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<v Speaker 1>and restricted drivers of any age. Now take me through

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<v Speaker 1>these changes? Are they long overdue use?

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<v Speaker 2>From the AOS perspective, we think that all those changes

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<v Speaker 2>that you just mentioned would be good things that we support.

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<v Speaker 2>At the moment, we have a zero alcohol limit up

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<v Speaker 2>till the age of twenty, and then beyond that point

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<v Speaker 2>you just have the standard point zero five adult alcohol limit.

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<v Speaker 2>And what this change would mean is that anybody on

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<v Speaker 2>a learner or a restricted license, regardless of their age,

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<v Speaker 2>would have a zero alcohol limit. So it would only

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<v Speaker 2>be once you had achieved a full driver license and

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<v Speaker 2>were over the age of twenty that you could consume

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<v Speaker 2>any alcohol legally and get behind the wheel. We think

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<v Speaker 2>that's a good change. When you have people who, regardless

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<v Speaker 2>of their age, they have less experience on the roads,

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<v Speaker 2>they're still learning, they're still developing their skills, all those

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<v Speaker 2>kind of things, you want to not have anything that

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<v Speaker 2>can make your judgment of reactions worse, which alcohol can do.

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<v Speaker 2>There's no reason for somebody to have to need to

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<v Speaker 2>consume any alcohol in driving, So having a zero alcohol

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<v Speaker 2>limit until you get a full license makes a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of sense to us. The other changes really that are

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<v Speaker 2>being proposed, you could just call them really making tougher

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<v Speaker 2>consequences for people if they break the rules when they're

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<v Speaker 2>on a learner or restrictive license, we think that there's

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of good positive benefits to doing that. It's

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<v Speaker 2>the highest risk group on the roads in terms of

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<v Speaker 2>crash rates. People under twenty five and people who have

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<v Speaker 2>only recently started to drive have the highest crash rates

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<v Speaker 2>on the roads. And right now, far too many are

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<v Speaker 2>quite comfortable about breaking a whole bunch of rules. And

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<v Speaker 2>so if we can have more of a deterrent or

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<v Speaker 2>more incentives to get those people to stick to the

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<v Speaker 2>rules because they don't want to risk losing their license

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<v Speaker 2>or taking longer to progress to a full license, we

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<v Speaker 2>think that could actually motivate people more than the prospect

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<v Speaker 2>of a fine. That actual risk to a license may

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<v Speaker 2>make some of those people better behave and stick to

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<v Speaker 2>the rules, and that means less people using cell phones

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<v Speaker 2>while they're driving, potentially not wearing seat belts, driving drunk, speeding,

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<v Speaker 2>all those kind of things.

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<v Speaker 1>The Transport Minister Chris Bishop says New Zealand is an

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<v Speaker 1>outlier internationally in requiring a practical test for someone on

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<v Speaker 1>a restricted license applying for their full license.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, that is true. So New Zealand is one of

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<v Speaker 2>the few countries in the world that has two on

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<v Speaker 2>road driving tests. Most other similar countries like ours, have

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<v Speaker 2>just one on road driving tests, which would be like

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<v Speaker 2>the equivalent of when you get your restrictive license in

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<v Speaker 2>New Zealand. Currently, most of those other countries that only

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<v Speaker 2>have one test also have requirements for a certain number

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<v Speaker 2>of hours of practice that learner drivers have to clock

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<v Speaker 2>up and complete before they can sit that test. So

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<v Speaker 2>some countries have requirements for having to complete certain number

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<v Speaker 2>of practice hours with a supervising driver who is somebody

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<v Speaker 2>with a full driver's license, and other countries, mainly in Europe,

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<v Speaker 2>they have requirements for learners have to complete a certain

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<v Speaker 2>number of professional lessons or hours of professional training before

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<v Speaker 2>they can sit that test. So from the AA's perspective,

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<v Speaker 2>we think New Zealand could look at moving to one

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<v Speaker 2>single on road test. But what we think should be

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<v Speaker 2>part of that if we're going to do it, is

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<v Speaker 2>introducing some minimum number of hours that learners would have

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<v Speaker 2>to complete of super high practice before you could sit

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<v Speaker 2>that test. Do we know why people don't have their

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<v Speaker 2>fool license?

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<v Speaker 3>We don't know exactly. I'm an anecdotally certainly people I

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<v Speaker 3>talk to going from your restricted to your full sitting

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<v Speaker 3>that second test. If you already know how to drive.

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<v Speaker 3>It's really stressful. It's not expensive, by the way, it's

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<v Speaker 3>one hundred bucks. You've got to take time off school

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<v Speaker 3>or work or whatever you're doing. You've got to go

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<v Speaker 3>bock it. You've got to find a time that suits everybody.

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<v Speaker 3>A lot of people just don't bother graduating from their

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<v Speaker 3>restrictor to their full So there's a lot of people

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<v Speaker 3>out there right now breaking the law, just driving on

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<v Speaker 3>they're restricted. That's not good. You also want young people

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<v Speaker 3>in particularly to graduate through the system properly, and so

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<v Speaker 3>we're bringing New Zealand into line with other countries.

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<v Speaker 1>I got my driver's license in South Australia, and I

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<v Speaker 1>remember that all those trips, and we had a log book.

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<v Speaker 4>That my dad had to sign.

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<v Speaker 1>Every time I'd drive to work or drive back or something.

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<v Speaker 1>We'd log it in the book and then take that

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<v Speaker 1>book and then go get the practic driving test.

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<v Speaker 2>Why is there such.

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<v Speaker 1>An adverse reaction to there being two practical tests though?

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<v Speaker 1>Doesn't they give us the assurance that we need to

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<v Speaker 1>have someone on our roads full time.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess the way the government's looking at it is

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<v Speaker 2>sort of asking are we actually getting benefits and do

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<v Speaker 2>we need that second test because it does come with

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<v Speaker 2>additional cost for people of having to pay about one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred dollars for doing that second test, and assuming that

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<v Speaker 2>they pass it that first time, and especially in a

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<v Speaker 2>bunch of more rural provincial parts of New Zealand things

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<v Speaker 2>like that, it can take quite a bit of time

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<v Speaker 2>and travel for somebody to go and do that second test.

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<v Speaker 2>They might have to take a day off work or

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<v Speaker 2>the outside of school, they might have to get a

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<v Speaker 2>family member or somebody to drive them quite a distance

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<v Speaker 2>to get to the testing location. The government is really,

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<v Speaker 2>i guess, asking the question of is that needed and

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<v Speaker 2>is it really delivering benefits to road safety? And if not,

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<v Speaker 2>then could we reduce some costs and make it's a

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<v Speaker 2>bit cheaper and easier for people to get a license.

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<v Speaker 2>And certainly we want people to be able to go

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<v Speaker 2>through that licensing process without undue barriers or difficulties. But

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<v Speaker 2>I think the key thing from the AA's perspective is

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<v Speaker 2>also wanting to make sure that we're actually having people

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<v Speaker 2>learn and develop and do the practice and build up

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<v Speaker 2>the skills and experience that we want before they start

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<v Speaker 2>driving solo. And that's why we think that having some

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<v Speaker 2>requirements around minimum number of hours of practice would be

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<v Speaker 2>a really good thing to bring in if we were

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<v Speaker 2>going to look at not having that second test.

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<v Speaker 4>Why hasn't it happened yet?

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<v Speaker 1>Because I don't want to give away my age. But

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<v Speaker 1>when I got my license and had to do those

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<v Speaker 1>hours in South I was it was a while ago.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a hard question for me to answer. Really. I

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<v Speaker 2>think New Zealand has developed a culture that doesn't actually

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<v Speaker 2>take learning to drive and driving seriously enough. A lot

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<v Speaker 2>of people see it as something that doesn't require that

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<v Speaker 2>much time and effort. From the AA's perspective, we think

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<v Speaker 2>we need to change as a country. This is a

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<v Speaker 2>critical life skill and it's also something that literally puts

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<v Speaker 2>people's lives at risk. And right now New Zealand has

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<v Speaker 2>one of the worst road safety records in terms of

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<v Speaker 2>developed countries around the world. We have one of the

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<v Speaker 2>highest rate of road deaths from crashes and the highest

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<v Speaker 2>risk group is under twenty five year olds. They die

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<v Speaker 2>at the highest rate. So we have not been doing

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<v Speaker 2>a great job in terms of actually training and preparing

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<v Speaker 2>people to be safe drivers. Twenty eleven was the last

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<v Speaker 2>time that there was a significant review of driver licensing system.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the way government tends to work. For these things,

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<v Speaker 2>especially significant things, they're not going to be reviewed and

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<v Speaker 2>looked at all the time because it takes up a

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<v Speaker 2>bunch of time and effort from the government officials and departments.

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<v Speaker 2>You only get these opportunities come around occasionally, maybe once

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<v Speaker 2>a decade or so. And that's in particular why right

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<v Speaker 2>now we think, from our perspective at the AA, if

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to look at making some significant changes, we're

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<v Speaker 2>hoping the government is open to looking at some other

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<v Speaker 2>additional options as well as what's been proposed, and really

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<v Speaker 2>looking at a chance to increase and step up the

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<v Speaker 2>standards that we are preparing and training people to start

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<v Speaker 2>driving on our roads. We think if we do that,

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<v Speaker 2>if we build better foundations right from the start, that

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<v Speaker 2>is going to then flow on to a long term

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<v Speaker 2>improvement in road safety in New Zealand.

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<v Speaker 1>Now all of this comes as the government is moving

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<v Speaker 1>ahead with reversing Labour's blanket speed limit reductions. What does

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<v Speaker 1>this reversal of a reduction mean.

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<v Speaker 2>It's really unfortunate that I think the whole issue around

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<v Speaker 2>speed limits and speed changes has become very polarizing and

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<v Speaker 2>very politicized, and I don't think that's actually a good

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<v Speaker 2>thing in terms of just our approach to setting speed limits.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a lot more complicated than a bunch of people

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<v Speaker 2>have think it is, or some of the headlines have

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<v Speaker 2>made it out to be. Some of the roads that

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<v Speaker 2>had speed reductions in recent years are going to see

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<v Speaker 2>their speed limits go back up to what they were

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<v Speaker 2>before by the end of June. There is a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of variation in terms of some of the highways around

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<v Speaker 2>the country that had reductions going back up automatically. Others

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<v Speaker 2>are currently having consultation, so it's still not certain at

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<v Speaker 2>this stage whether they will go back or whether they

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<v Speaker 2>will keep the lower limit. Some of the urban roads

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<v Speaker 2>around the country going back up to the limits they

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<v Speaker 2>had before. A number of those in Auckland of urban

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<v Speaker 2>roads that went down to thirty kilometers an hour going

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<v Speaker 2>back to fifty kilometer or in our limits, and different

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<v Speaker 2>parts of the country and in different places, the picture

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<v Speaker 2>looks a little bit different. So the best I can

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<v Speaker 2>summarize it is that some of the speed limit changes

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<v Speaker 2>that we saw in the last few years are going

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<v Speaker 2>to go back to what they were before. Twenty twenty

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<v Speaker 2>and some of them are going to stay in place,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're still working through the details. It should be

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<v Speaker 2>May this year that we will have a complete and

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<v Speaker 2>final picture on which ones are going to go back

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<v Speaker 2>up and which ones won't.

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<v Speaker 4>Right, So, there are different categories of these roads, and

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<v Speaker 4>I think councilors have until you're quite right may to

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<v Speaker 4>advise the NZTA of those specified roads subject to those

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<v Speaker 4>reversals and things.

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<v Speaker 1>Why shouldn't we be driving slower on our roads? Though

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<v Speaker 1>there have to be more negatives than positives to upping

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<v Speaker 1>speed limits, I would presume.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that it's actually a more complicated picture than that.

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<v Speaker 2>One way of looking at it is you could say

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<v Speaker 2>that if we had people traveling slower speed limits, then

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<v Speaker 2>there's going to be less risk and less force in bold.

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<v Speaker 2>So if something goes wrong, people were going to be

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<v Speaker 2>less likely with that ending up in a crash and

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<v Speaker 2>less likely of harm from that crash. But we also

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<v Speaker 2>have the balance of people's ability to actually move around

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<v Speaker 2>and for goods to move and that's one of the

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<v Speaker 2>reasons why we have different types of roads, urban roads, highways,

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<v Speaker 2>rural roads and things like that. And from our perspective

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<v Speaker 2>here at the AA, we really felt that we needed

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<v Speaker 2>to be looking at three things for speed limits to

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<v Speaker 2>work most effectively, and that was having limits that match

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<v Speaker 2>the environment that they're in, having limits that make sense

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<v Speaker 2>to people, and having limits that are set using a

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<v Speaker 2>strong evidence base, looking at the crash history on those roads,

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<v Speaker 2>the likely impacts, those kind of things. And in recent

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<v Speaker 2>years there was a growing sense amongst a bunch of

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<v Speaker 2>communities out there and things like that that they are

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<v Speaker 2>a bit of a disconnect had developed, and speed limits

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<v Speaker 2>were being put in place by authorities that didn't match

0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:00.760
<v Speaker 2>the environment or the purpose of the roads in some cases,

0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.000
<v Speaker 2>or didn't make sense to people. We actually did some

0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.240
<v Speaker 2>research for our research foundation a few years ago looking

0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:09.240
<v Speaker 2>at a number of highways that had reduced from one

0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:11.680
<v Speaker 2>hundred kilometers an hour to eighty kilometers an hour, and

0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:14.320
<v Speaker 2>it was really interesting to see the varied impact on

0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.360
<v Speaker 2>some of those stretches of highway. After the limit changed,

0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.400
<v Speaker 2>you saw reductions and the speeds people were traveling, and

0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:22.959
<v Speaker 2>they were traveling quite close to the limit. On other

0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.400
<v Speaker 2>stretches of highway you saw very little change and actually

0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:28.800
<v Speaker 2>the speeds that people were traveling, and you ended up

0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.920
<v Speaker 2>with the majority of the traffic just traveling above the

0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:34.840
<v Speaker 2>speed limits. So we think the best result here is

0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:37.040
<v Speaker 2>we need to try and find that sweet spot of

0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.280
<v Speaker 2>having speed limits that are going to make sense to

0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.000
<v Speaker 2>people and suit the environment, because that is where then

0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.200
<v Speaker 2>you get good compliance and you have people traveling at

0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:50.600
<v Speaker 2>those limits. If you have situations where the limits just

0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:54.240
<v Speaker 2>feel and seem too low to people, they can often

0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:57.320
<v Speaker 2>just choose to ignore them, and then you're not actually

0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:00.240
<v Speaker 2>getting their safety benefits, and you've got a situation where

0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:03.000
<v Speaker 2>you just have the majority of people flouting the rules.

0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.840
<v Speaker 1>So you just have to take in human nature as well.

0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.520
<v Speaker 1>There are always people who are going to be flouting

0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.880
<v Speaker 1>the law and going higher than eighty on a highway.

0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.200
<v Speaker 2>There are going to be some, absolutely, but it's trying

0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.720
<v Speaker 2>to find what works for the majority. So it's not

0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:22.120
<v Speaker 2>thinking about the complete outlies those people who deliberately and

0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:25.760
<v Speaker 2>knowingly just want to drive really fast and go way

0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:27.840
<v Speaker 2>above the speed limit because they want to or they

0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:29.960
<v Speaker 2>don't really care about the rules. I think it's more

0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:33.800
<v Speaker 2>focused on the vast majority of generally compliant people and

0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:36.640
<v Speaker 2>trying to work with what's going to make sense to them.

0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:39.200
<v Speaker 2>Example of some of the survey work we've done around

0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.720
<v Speaker 2>our AA members, we've seen really strong levels of support

0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.760
<v Speaker 2>for variable speed limits and low speed limits around schools

0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.160
<v Speaker 2>at those times the start and the end of school

0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:53.640
<v Speaker 2>days when there's a lot of kids around, and people say, absolutely,

0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.120
<v Speaker 2>we think lower limits at those times would be a

0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.520
<v Speaker 2>good thing and we should do that. But then if

0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.440
<v Speaker 2>you're talking about those lower limits being in place when

0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.560
<v Speaker 2>it's nine o'clock at night and there's very few people

0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.800
<v Speaker 2>or traffic around, then people have a different view and

0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.560
<v Speaker 2>think doesn't really make sense to me at that point

0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.640
<v Speaker 2>to still be doing thirty kilometers an hour when I'm

0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:17.160
<v Speaker 2>the only car on the road. So we think that

0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.640
<v Speaker 2>the approach that the government is taking around variable speed

0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:23.840
<v Speaker 2>limits around schools and having lower limits at those key

0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:25.840
<v Speaker 2>times makes a lot of sense and is going to

0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:28.560
<v Speaker 2>work well with a lot of people slowing down those

0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:33.640
<v Speaker 2>high risk times. Twenty twenty four looks set to have

0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:38.160
<v Speaker 2>the lowest toll in more than a decade. This road

0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.640
<v Speaker 2>safety advocate has a theory on why it.

0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:46.120
<v Speaker 5>Is globally recognized that the road toll follows the economy.

0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:49.360
<v Speaker 5>When you've got high unemployment, these guys don't have the

0:15:49.400 --> 0:15:52.800
<v Speaker 5>money to go out and buy big Harley Davidson's and

0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:56.760
<v Speaker 5>bang them into them posts. When the economy improves, everybody

0:15:56.840 --> 0:16:00.480
<v Speaker 5>gets optimistic. People buy fast cars, they buy fast bikes,

0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:01.640
<v Speaker 5>and the end result.

0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:02.479
<v Speaker 2>Is more fatalities.

0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:11.000
<v Speaker 1>Two hundred and eighty nine people lost their lives on

0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:14.720
<v Speaker 1>New Zealand's roads last year, and while that's still obviously

0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.960
<v Speaker 1>too many, it's the first time it's been under three

0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.800
<v Speaker 1>hundred since twenty fourteen, and the lowest rate of road

0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.840
<v Speaker 1>deaths per capita in a century, So are we doing

0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:27.960
<v Speaker 1>something right when it comes to road safety to have

0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:29.560
<v Speaker 1>such a milestone.

0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:34.440
<v Speaker 2>We were extremely happy to see that result. It was

0:16:34.560 --> 0:16:37.520
<v Speaker 2>very pleasing to see us fall back below a three

0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:40.760
<v Speaker 2>hundred level, and if you look on a per population basis,

0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:42.920
<v Speaker 2>it was actually the lowest rate of road deaths New

0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.680
<v Speaker 2>Zealanders had since the nineteen twenty so basically in one

0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:49.440
<v Speaker 2>hundred years, and we hope that we're going to see

0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:53.080
<v Speaker 2>that continue. We've seen individual years in the park. Twenty

0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:55.280
<v Speaker 2>thirteen was one where we had two hundred and fifty

0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:58.680
<v Speaker 2>three deaths, the lowest ever achieved in recent times. So

0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:01.240
<v Speaker 2>we've had individual years in the past and then things

0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:02.880
<v Speaker 2>have jumped back up and they've just been a bit

0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.639
<v Speaker 2>of an aberration, so we are wanting to take a

0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:08.360
<v Speaker 2>little bit more time to see what happens in this

0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.600
<v Speaker 2>year and if we can replicate that performance. We're really

0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:15.600
<v Speaker 2>hoping that it is actually signifying that we've turned a

0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:19.520
<v Speaker 2>bit of a corner and are seeing some improvements in

0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:23.480
<v Speaker 2>our road safety record. There are some positive things that

0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.960
<v Speaker 2>have been going on in New Zealand over recent years.

0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:28.560
<v Speaker 2>It's often doesn't seem that way because most of the

0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:32.040
<v Speaker 2>stories that are out there about road safety are about

0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:35.720
<v Speaker 2>horrific and tragic crashes. But we have seen a lot

0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.520
<v Speaker 2>of upgrades and improvements, particularly to some of our highest

0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.879
<v Speaker 2>risk highways in New Zealand. Over the last sort of

0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:46.560
<v Speaker 2>fifteen to twenty years, a lot of those what used

0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.680
<v Speaker 2>to be our highest risk highways have been replaced by

0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:52.960
<v Speaker 2>new modern stretches of road or they've had significant safety

0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:58.680
<v Speaker 2>upgrades and they have delivered raally substantial crash reductions. We've

0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:04.000
<v Speaker 2>also continue to see vehicle safety improvements just progressing and

0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.800
<v Speaker 2>getting better over time, so vehicles are more protective and

0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:11.160
<v Speaker 2>also have more technology to help prevent crashes. We've seen

0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:15.800
<v Speaker 2>a bunch of changes happen around trunk and drugs driving,

0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:19.520
<v Speaker 2>and the police have really worked hard to ramp back

0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:23.600
<v Speaker 2>up alcohol testing because impair driving by alcohol and drugs

0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:26.919
<v Speaker 2>in New Zealand is a chronically bad problem and it

0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:31.000
<v Speaker 2>can get close to being forty plus percent of road

0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.040
<v Speaker 2>deaths in a year, so it's great to see the

0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:37.040
<v Speaker 2>police really cracking down on that. Again. We think that

0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:39.320
<v Speaker 2>one of the big things that we haven't been doing

0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.240
<v Speaker 2>enough on from the AA's perspective is actually around that

0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:47.159
<v Speaker 2>driver behavior, driver training and trying to upscale people, and

0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.919
<v Speaker 2>so if we can do more to actually have people

0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.120
<v Speaker 2>have a bit more knowledge, more awareness, more skills, more

0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.600
<v Speaker 2>experience as they're starting out, we really hope that we're

0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:00.000
<v Speaker 2>only going to see our road safety records keep gets

0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.720
<v Speaker 2>better and that means less and less people being hurt,

0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:06.520
<v Speaker 2>seriously heard or killed and creatures on our rights.

0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:07.879
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for joining us, Dylan.

0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:08.480
<v Speaker 2>Thank you.

0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:15.080
<v Speaker 1>That's it for this episode of The Front Page. You

0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:18.920
<v Speaker 1>can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage

0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:22.960
<v Speaker 1>at enzdherld dot co dot nz. The Front Page is

0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:26.760
<v Speaker 1>produced by Ethan Sills and Richard Martin, who is also

0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:31.560
<v Speaker 1>our sound engineer. I'm Chelsea Daniels. Subscribe to the Front

0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:35.199
<v Speaker 1>Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts, and

0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:39.360
<v Speaker 1>tune in on Monday for another look behind the headlines.