Young Kiwi drivers committing fewer offences, but road toll remains stubbornly high - report

Young New Zealand drivers are committing significantly fewer traffic offences than they were a decade ago, but road safety advocates warn the country's youth road death rate remains among the worst in the developed world.

New data released by the AA Research Foundation shows offending rates among licensed drivers aged 15-19 have continued to fall, extending a trend first identified in a 2016 study examining data from 2009 to 2013.

According to the latest figures, overall offending rates among young drivers have dropped by 41 per cent since 2013 when adjusted for the growing number of licensed drivers. Drunk and drugged driving offences have fallen by 58 per cent, while seatbelt-related offences are down 52 per cent.

AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said the figures demonstrate that road safety initiatives introduced over the past decade are having a positive effect.

"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.

The number of licensed young drivers has increased substantially over the same period, rising from 142,159 in 2013 to 204,285 in 2024.

While offending has declined, youth road deaths remain a major concern.

The fatality rate among young drivers fell from 22.5 deaths per 100,000 licensed drivers in 2013 to 16.6 in 2024, but the AA says New Zealand still records the highest youth road death rate in the OECD.

"These figures show we need to be focussing on more than just enforcement to bring crash rates down even further," Mr Thomsen said.

According to Ministry of Transport data, crashes involving a young driver deemed at fault result in around 90 deaths and 600 serious injuries every year.

The findings come as the Government considers changes to New Zealand's Graduated Driver Licensing System.

The AA has backed several proposed reforms, including extending the zero-alcohol limit to learner and restricted licence holders, as well as introducing tougher consequences for novice drivers who offend.

However, the organisation argues more emphasis should be placed on training and supervised driving experience before young motorists are allowed to drive independently.

Changes the AA wants added to the Government's proposals include extending the learner licence period from six months to 12 months, requiring at least 60 hours of supervised driving practice across a variety of conditions, and incentivising professional driver training by allowing instructor-led lessons to count for additional practice hours.

A recent AA Research Foundation survey found half of drivers under 25 had accumulated fewer than 40 hours of driving experience before sitting their restricted licence test, while 17 per cent reported having less than 15 hours behind the wheel.

Mr Thomsen said the learner and restricted licence stages provide the best opportunity to establish safe driving habits that last a lifetime.

"It has been 14 years since the last substantial review of New Zealand's driver licence system and the AA urges the Government to take this chance to introduce changes which will start lifting New Zealand to a higher level of driver skills and safety."

Young driver trends in New Zealand