Drivers born in October urged to upgrade licences

The LTSA is concerned that drivers born in October, who have not yet upgraded to their new photo driver licence, could be caught out by the Christmas break which is at the end of their licence renewal period.

Drivers have 60 days from their birthday to upgrade to the new photo driver licences. Drivers who fail to do so, and are caught by Police, risk a $400 fine. If they are caught again, they could have the car they are driving impounded on the spot for 28 days. It will then cost around $350 to get the car back at the end of that period.

“I’m sure the last thing people will be thinking of during this time is that they need to upgrade their licence,” said the Director of Land Transport, Reg Barrett.

“We are serious about getting the road toll down and getting disqualified and unlicensed drivers off our roads. The new photo driver licences make it much more difficult for this group of drivers to get away with flouting our traffic laws. By upgrading to the new licences everyone is helping to make our roads a safer place for everyone,” Mr Barrett said.

“People should not simply wait for an upgrade pack to arrive. If you’ve had your birthday, or are about to, and nothing’s arrived then you’ll need to go and pick up the application forms at a driver licensing agent. Police will not accept an excuse to the effect that you didn’t receive an upgrade pack – it’s the responsibility of the driver to ensure they hold a valid driver licence,” said Mr Barrett.

With a large number of people moving house each year, it was not possible for LTSA to ensure every New Zealander received an upgrade pack in the mail, he said.

Driver licensing services are provided six days a week by the New Zealand Automobile Association (AA) and Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ), with Vehicle Identification New Zealand (VINZ) offering a weekday service and a limited service on Saturdays in Mt Wellington from 8am to 1pm only. On-Road Ltd provides licensing services seven days a week.

“More than one million people have already upgraded to the new photo driver licences, which is a great result. That puts us right on target to have 2.4 million licenses issued by the end of the relicensing period," said Mr Barrett.

© Scoop Media