Knowledge has no value unless you put it into Practice

“Knowledge has no value unless you put it into Practice”

To help make young drivers safer, the restricted driver licence test is getting tougher from February 27th. To prepare for the new test, the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) recommends that learner drivers should aim to get around 120 hours of supervised driving practice in a range of conditions and situations.

Practice.co.nz is a joint initiative between ACC and the NZTA, structured around the 120-hour target recommended for the new restricted driver licence test. It is designed to help young learner drivers do sufficient on-road practice to reach the level of skill needed to get their restricted driver’s licence. This free online programme includes information, tips and videos for both the young driver and the person who is there for most of their supervised driving - their ‘Guide’. The Guide is usually a parent, relative or experienced friend who sits beside them in the car to teach them to drive.

“The really valuable thing about Practice is that it sets out what needs to be learnt, in what order, how to teach those skills and how much to practice the different skills,” says ACC General Manager Insurance and Prevention Services, Keith McLea. “Practice takes the guesswork out of the learning to drive process.”

To pass the new test, learner drivers will have to demonstrate safe decision-making, observance of road rules and satisfactory car-handling skills throughout the whole test. The test will require drivers to handle a wider range of road and traffic conditions than the current test Following the Practice programme will give learner drivers the experience to pass these challenges.

“It’s essential the 120 hours are spent driving in all conditions, on all sorts of roads,” says Keith McLea. “Encouraging and supporting a young learner driver to practise their skills with an experienced driver at their side is the only way to create confident and capable drivers.”

To find out more about Practice, and to sign up, go to www.practice.co.nz. Once signed up Learner drivers aged 16-19 years get free access to ‘eDrive’, the new online interactive driving simulation programme that helps them develop the types of decision-making skills that will be assessed in the new test.

Another useful resource is www.safeteendriver.co.nz which collates all the NZTA resources to help parents to stay involved with their teen’s driving from the learner through to the restricted licence.

-END-

© Scoop Media