New licencing rule changes

[DODO``]

I understand today (27-Feb-12) is the day the new toughened rules take place,
well, harder for restricted, but eaier for full..

Im currently holding learner license for 3 years now and just booked a practical test to get restricted. apparently too many people rushed in for the test before the change like me, so my test is in april anyway.. long after the change! (in NorthShore)

I know its only been a day, but has anybody have a hands on experience of harder restricted practical test and want to share what it was like? other than whats described on NZTA? (link below)

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/photo/new-tests.html


Thanks in advance! any comments would be appriciated!:headbang:

[hayd3n]

bike one isint till october if im correct

[GingerMidget]

Bike test will be an hour, essentially the full and restricted tests have swapped place until october. The new test, which will be better suited to a bike will come out in october.

This is info direct from a TO so its correct.

[Scuba_Steve]

Side note, if anyone is going through or knows someone going through a car version of the "improved" test, I'd like to know what the new test is like.
I'm hopeful the useless morons that control this sort of thing have for once done something right but given their track record I'm skeptical. Be good to know if the test finally involves some skill or if they've just tightened the tolerance on the old test as such.
So if someone has knowledge please share :)

[sleemanj]

bike one isint till october if im correct

According to the NZTA, as of today the restricted and full tests swap places (and prices), a new full is being developed for October, but until then, the full is the same as the restricted was yesterday and the restricted the same as the full was yesterday.

Unless something has changed since NZTA wrote the web page.

Edit: Citation for above is found in my previous post here...
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/146925-6F-bullshit?p=1130261078#post1130261078

[Scuba_Steve]

Bike test will be an hour, essentially the full and restricted tests have swapped place until october. The new test, which will be better suited to a bike will come out in october.

This is info direct from a TO so its correct.

Oh and DODO``, if this ^ is the go, then it's easy as piss just fucking annoying. The worst part is them constantly asking "hazards" these are pretty much anything with 100m of the road (might be a bit exaggeration) any person, any car, any parked vehicle (door might open or something), any animal etc etc pretty much anything & everything regardless of actual "hazard" (don't stress to much it's all shit you see anyways). Other than that is pretty much riding to the inforced rules.

Oh if you get stuck with a CB radio that can be annoying too, quite often it's hard to work out what they're saying but there's always the option of pulling over to ask.

[DODO``]

sweet, Thank you very much guys, so not tooo much to worry about then still Oct.

One thing tho.. for the people with current restricted licences,,
With the changed rules, those people will get the full licence with effectively 2 restricted tests?? LOL

[GingerMidget]

Bahaha I just worked out now, I got my cage restricted a while ago, with the easy test. I also got an officer who I know quite well, (not a good thing) and he was quite harsh on me. So the full test is gonna be a piece of cake me thinks. I just need to slow down :bleh:

[TrentNz]

Me, being Me, waited until the very last minute to try get my restricted, done a half dozen driving tests with the pros then turns out they were fully booked past the change date :bye:

[Monsterbishi]

I just need to slow down

I almost failed my full motorcycle test when I sat mine years ago, for going too slow - turns out my Speedo was almost 10kph out so when I was riding dead on 50kph I was actually doing 42...

[GingerMidget]

I almost failed my full motorcycle test when I sat mine years ago, for going too slow - turns out my Speedo was almost 10kph out so when I was riding dead on 50kph I was actually doing 42...

Its a brand new ford ranger with a digital speedo. Its 95% accurate. So is the fixed camera down the road :doh:

[sleemanj]

With the changed rules, those people will get the full licence with effectively 2 restricted tests?? LOL

I believe that to be the case, I'll probably find out soon enough, if I can get myself motivated.

[nzspokes]

My full driving test consisted of me taking the officer to the bakery to get the boys lunch. That may have been some decades ago.

[DODO``]

hahaha thats nice..

I've heard a rumour if you don't get full licence and left the learners & restricted licence to expire, one would have to start from the beginning?
Is this part of the change?

anybody?:2thumbsup

[Scuba_Steve]

hahaha thats nice..

I've heard a rumour if you don't get full licence and left the learners & restricted licence to expire, one would have to start from the beginning?
Is this part of the change?

anybody?:2thumbsup

not that I've heard?. Apparently their trying to force people through the licencing system with a proposal to have a limit on how long you can keep a non-full licence before it resets (2yrs I think is the proposed time limit). It's a straight up money grab, but that's not law yet just a proposal of change, so still time to stop that one (theoretically) but haven't heard of this thing your talking about.

[sleemanj]

hahaha thats nice..
I've heard a rumour if you don't get full licence and left the learners & restricted licence to expire, one would have to start from the beginning?


That has always been the case I think, if you let your licence expire, for long enough, you go back to square one again. I don't know what the grace period is... 5 years rings a bell though.

[wharekura]

I had my 6L since 1990 and was able to book and sit the 6R test Jan 2012. i got motivated as i want to take the wife with me on trips.

[Ixion]

From NZTA web site :




Your licence expired more than five years go?


If your licence expired more than five years ago, you may have to pass theory and practical tests to renew your licence. However, if you can produce evidence of having been licensed to drive during the previous five years (eg with an overseas driver licence) tests may not be required.

[GingerMidget]

I had my 6L since 1990 and was able to book and sit the 6R test Jan 2012. i got motivated as i want to take the wife with me on trips.

Did you have to renew your licence a while ago? Or was the 6l one of the last paper ones? in which case it should have been renewed when the photo cards came in yonks ago.

Yes, if your licence has expired more than 5 years ago, you will have to re-qualify. If you have been out of the country and got the equivalent while you were, say, living in the uk, just convert it when you come back. There are some ways to just renew, but it depends on a lot of things

[wharekura]

When the first credit card type licenses came out, my 6L along with my full car license just transferred. When I got my bike in Nov11 I assumed my 6L was still current (As stated on the license). I went to book my 6R practical test in Dec11 to sit in Jan12 and there was no mention of resiting. And my 6L license was that old - 1990.

[sleemanj]

Yes that's fine, your licence at no point expired for 5 years, so you didn't need to resit anything.

Look at your licence, there is an expiry date, doesn't matter what class. If that date passes, and for 5 years you don't get around to renewing, that's when you need to sit tests again.

[Nzpure]

Just been on the phone with the NZTA about the new 6F test and apparently it hasn't swapped, the 6F test duration has changed is its 30 minutes instead of and hour thats all that has changed..... although getting information out of them was like getting blood from a stone, then she got shitty at me for asking so many questions:brick:.......great customer service they have there

[sleemanj]

Just been on the phone with the NZTA about the new 6F test and apparently it hasn't swapped, the 6F test duration has changed is its 30 minutes instead of and hour thats all that has changed.

I would suggest that if the test is 30 minutes, then it's clearly not the old full test, and since they havn't developed a new full test, it is therefore the old restricted test or extremely similar.

And also most likely, the drone on the end of the phone didn't know what you were talking about. Which isn't unusual.

[wharekura]

i called them too for clarification, the person at the time was somewhat helpful after putting me on hold when my questions must of sounded like a media conference - anyway i will cut and past my written response

[wharekura]

Good afternoon David,

Thank you for your email dated 15 February 2012.

If you are over 25 years of age, you can obtain a full class 6 (motorcycle ) licence once you have held the class 6 restricted licence for at least six months. Alternatively, you may complete an approved defensive driving course and be eligible to obtain a full class 6 licence after holding the restricted class 6 for at least three months.

The new class 6 (motorcycle) full licence (FLT) test being introduced on 27 February 2012 will remain in place until changes to the motorcycle licensing system are introduced in October 2012. The FLT has changed to a 30 minute appointment from its previous length of one hour. It will not include as many elements as it had previously as those criteria are now assessed during the restricted licence test.

The FLT requires the applicant to demonstrate safe driving skills over a range of driving environments.

The test takes 30 minutes to administer, which allows for:

· meeting the applicant
· conducting the pre-drive safety checks
· conducting a 20-minute practical drive
· adding up the score sheet at the end of the test
· providing feedback to the applicant on their performance at the end of the test.

The FLT is a similar format test to the Restricted Licence Test (RLT), and applicants are scored on the following items

· Observation
· Signalling
· Gap Selection
· Following Distance
· Lateral Position
· Hazard Detection
· Hazard Response

Unlike the restricted licence test, the FLT is conducted in one stage and requires the applicant to verbally describe:

· the hazards, and
· their actions in response to those hazards, as they undertake assessable tasks.

Therefore, the new full licence test will not be exactly like the old restricted licence test was.

Further detailed information about the new full driver licence test that comes into effect on 27 February 2012 is available in a 45 page draft booklet on the NZ Transport Agency website at the following link:

www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/photo/docs/full-test-guide.pdf

Please note this booklet is still in draft stage and should not take the place of well-structured and comprehensive lesson plans together with high levels of supervised driving experience in a broad range of driving situations. A final version will be available soon

[JustNick]

Good afternoon David,

Thank you for your email dated 15 February 2012.

If you are over 25 years of age, you can obtain a full class 6 (motorcycle ) licence once you have held the class 6 restricted licence for at least six months. Alternatively, you may complete an approved defensive driving course and be eligible to obtain a full class 6 licence after holding the restricted class 6 for at least three months.

The new class 6 (motorcycle) full licence (FLT) test being introduced on 27 February 2012 will remain in place until changes to the motorcycle licensing system are introduced in October 2012. The FLT has changed to a 30 minute appointment from its previous length of one hour. It will not include as many elements as it had previously as those criteria are now assessed during the restricted licence test.

The FLT requires the applicant to demonstrate safe driving skills over a range of driving environments.

The test takes 30 minutes to administer, which allows for:

· meeting the applicant
· conducting the pre-drive safety checks
· conducting a 20-minute practical drive
· adding up the score sheet at the end of the test
· providing feedback to the applicant on their performance at the end of the test.

The FLT is a similar format test to the Restricted Licence Test (RLT), and applicants are scored on the following items

· Observation
· Signalling
· Gap Selection
· Following Distance
· Lateral Position
· Hazard Detection
· Hazard Response

Unlike the restricted licence test, the FLT is conducted in one stage and requires the applicant to verbally describe:

· the hazards, and
· their actions in response to those hazards, as they undertake assessable tasks.

Therefore, the new full licence test will not be exactly like the old restricted licence test was.

Further detailed information about the new full driver licence test that comes into effect on 27 February 2012 is available in a 45 page draft booklet on the NZ Transport Agency website at the following link:

www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/photo/docs/full-test-guide.pdf

Please note this booklet is still in draft stage and should not take the place of well-structured and comprehensive lesson plans together with high levels of supervised driving experience in a broad range of driving situations. A final version will be available soon

Cheers for taking the time to put this up. I'm sitting my restricted test next week under the "new" format so am following this thread with interest.

[wharekura]

a lot of people will be following you - including me - with interest since u one of the lucky few to try the new tests out

[Nzpure]

Good afternoon David,

Thank you for your email dated 15 February 2012.

If you are over 25 years of age, you can obtain a full class 6 (motorcycle ) licence once you have held the class 6 restricted licence for at least six months. Alternatively, you may complete an approved defensive driving course and be eligible to obtain a full class 6 licence after holding the restricted class 6 for at least three months.

The new class 6 (motorcycle) full licence (FLT) test being introduced on 27 February 2012 will remain in place until changes to the motorcycle licensing system are introduced in October 2012. The FLT has changed to a 30 minute appointment from its previous length of one hour. It will not include as many elements as it had previously as those criteria are now assessed during the restricted licence test.

The FLT requires the applicant to demonstrate safe driving skills over a range of driving environments.

The test takes 30 minutes to administer, which allows for:

· meeting the applicant
· conducting the pre-drive safety checks
· conducting a 20-minute practical drive
· adding up the score sheet at the end of the test
· providing feedback to the applicant on their performance at the end of the test.

The FLT is a similar format test to the Restricted Licence Test (RLT), and applicants are scored on the following items

· Observation
· Signalling
· Gap Selection
· Following Distance
· Lateral Position
· Hazard Detection
· Hazard Response

Unlike the restricted licence test, the FLT is conducted in one stage and requires the applicant to verbally describe:

· the hazards, and
· their actions in response to those hazards, as they undertake assessable tasks.

Therefore, the new full licence test will not be exactly like the old restricted licence test was.

Further detailed information about the new full driver licence test that comes into effect on 27 February 2012 is available in a 45 page draft booklet on the NZ Transport Agency website at the following link:

www.nzta.govt.nz/licence/photo/docs/full-test-guide.pdf

Please note this booklet is still in draft stage and should not take the place of well-structured and comprehensive lesson plans together with high levels of supervised driving experience in a broad range of driving situations. A final version will be available soon


Cheers for that mate you got a great deal info out of them then i did!
i go for mine in a week or so now so its good to know what to expect!

[sleemanj]

Good afternoon David,

Thank you for your email dated 15 February 2012.


Well I'll be jiggered, somebody got a sensible detailed answer from the government for a change!

[wharekura]

ask the right questions and sometimes get the right answers...sometimes.

[argada]

I sat the full license test at AA Westgate on Monday.
The new 6F is not only similar, but pretty much identical to the old 6R test.

But the guy gave a little speech at the start, something along the these lines...
"This is going to be a BRAND NEW test, rules have changed, one mistake and you are done! But don't worry, I'm not here to fail you....."

That had me worried a little bit (a lot!:eek5:), but it turned out to be identical to my restricted test, exact same route, same stop signs, same place for u-turn.
None of that remember hazard stuff at all.

[wharekura]

thanks for the feedback. when i sat my 6r in jan2012 i just remembered what people said to me, just ride and dont worry about it. and that made me mainly get over the nerves and whatever the inspector said. interesting though ur inspector did not go over the hazards. my inspector did not give me any feedback until i asked.

[DODO``]

good stuff, thanks for your info guys :) much appreciated! :clap::clap:

[JustNick]

Ok I just passed my restricted test today down here in Taupo and here's a wall of text to celebrate!

Cost:
Well I booked online 4 weeks ago to coincide with the end of my 6 month learners period. Booking 4 weeks in advance I had my pick of pretty much any day and time that I wanted. I opted for 10.45 which I figured would be a relatively quiet period not having to worry about school traffic etc.
The cost to sit the restricted test was $134.80.

Preparation:
Well I 've done a whole stack of riding in different conditions and riding environments in my first 6 months of riding. I did go out and practice a few u-turns the day before however just to be safe however. I also opted to go to the optometrist and have them do the eye exam before my test instead of using the eye machine at the AA centre, not that I have dodgy eyes I just find it easier to have all of my eggs lined up so to speak. The eye exam cost me $25.00 down here and was very straight forward. Look at the chart and a peripheral vision check. The optometrists have forms on hand and they just need to fill it out with pass/fail, test results and stamp it for you to take to the testing centre.

On the day:
You are required to show up 1/2 an hour before your test appointment if you booked online. This is so that you can fill out the required paperwork before the test. I had to produce 1 form of ID (drivers licence) and proof of address (bank statement). It only takes a couple of minutes to fill out the form which was a DL1 from memory. In the end I had a bit of time to sit around and twiddle my thumbs waiting for the tester to arrive which is all good.

Test brief:
The first thing the tester said to me when we were doing the pre-ride check on the bike was "the headset is broken" and "sign this form please". I straight away started think "garrrr". As far as the pre-ride check goes he could see that my lights and brake lights worked because I was sitting on the bike and he checked the WOF and rego. I was told to keep his car in sight at all times for the test.

The test itself:
Due to not having a headset, I was given instructions of what route to ride and when to stop for the next set of instructions.

Here's a list of some of the skills tested (as far as I could tell):
Left hand turns at giveways.
Around town riding.
Stop lights.
Pulling over to the side of the road.
Pulling out from the side of the road.
Right hand turns at stop signs.
Round abouts.
U-turns x 1.
50km/h
70km/h
100km/h
Riding past shops and a school.
Merging lanes.

The test itself took approximately 20 minutes including 2 stops for new instructions and was very straight forward. At the stop signs I was putting one foot down and was not told off for it. I was also doing the usual stuff; obvious mirror and headchecks, speed limit etc. I was never asked about hazards on the route but didn't have to employ some vehicular avoidance manouvres when I car tried to back out into my road space.

Conclusion:
The test was piss easy and going by the other descriptions on here it doesn't seem to have changed much at all to the original restricted test.

[wharekura]

thanks for the feedback. One thing - I thought because u sat the 6R AFTER the 27/Feb/2012 that the practical should had been 1 hour duration? Also, u must have a great memory because giving directions and instructions on top of nerves must of been difficult.

[JustNick]

thanks for the feedback. One thing - I thought because u sat the 6R AFTER the 27/Feb/2012 that the practical should had been 1 hour duration? Also, u must have a great memory because giving directions and instructions on top of nerves must of been difficult.

Regarding the 1 hour duration yes that was also my understanding and I did pay the new licence testing fees rate, but it didn't turn out to be the case on the day - I'm guessing everyone is still getting used to the changes. And the route that we took was really simple it wasn't a case of memorising a half a dozen turns at a time or anything like that.

[DODO``]

Regarding the 1 hour duration yes that was also my understanding and I did pay the new licence testing fees rate, but it didn't turn out to be the case on the day - I'm guessing everyone is still getting used to the changes. And the route that we took was really simple it wasn't a case of memorising a half a dozen turns at a time or anything like that.

Good on you!

Speaking of the route,, does anybody know or remember the route for the ones from Browns Bay testing station? I know its a big ask but I believe knowing the route (even roughly) would help out some really nervous souls like me! :weep:

[Cheech]

Hey guys. So I just sat my restricted test and thought I would share my experience...

Location was Westgate in Auckland about a week ago.

It has been mentioned before that the full and restricted tests have been swapped around and this is definitely the case. My test was EXACTLY the same as the old full test.

So an overview:

1/ Looked over the bike to make sure everything works and rego/wof are ok
2/ General ride around to check basics like signaling, give way, stop, turning, speed etc.
3/ Hazard identification. Ride in 50k area and identify any hazards.
4/ Ride in a high speed area. No hazard identification needed.

I was surprised at the hazard bit and was caught off guard. Luckily I remember what it was like from my full car license so wasn't too bad. I had to identify hazards AFTER parking up after riding around looking while scanning for hazards. Then I would let the tester know where/what the hazards way by signs (thumbs up/down and pointing)!

During the course of the test the only 'maneuver' I had to make was a few u-turns but these were mostly at a cul-de-sac so were piss easy.

It was long and actual riding was at least 45mins. Route consisted of the general Westgate area for 50k zone then out towards Whenuapai airbase and kumeu for high speed riding.

The headset I was given worked really well and I could hear instructions no prob. The tester repeated everything twice just in case and I nodded my head to show I heard him.

All up was a pretty easy test and nothing tricky about it if you know what to expect.

Cheers

[DODO``]

Hey guys. So I just sat my restricted test and thought I would share my experience...

Location was Westgate in Auckland about a week ago.

It has been mentioned before that the full and restricted tests have been swapped around and this is definitely the case. My test was EXACTLY the same as the old full test.

So an overview:

1/ Looked over the bike to make sure everything works and rego/wof are ok
2/ General ride around to check basics like signaling, give way, stop, turning, speed etc.
3/ Hazard identification. Ride in 50k area and identify any hazards.
4/ Ride in a high speed area. No hazard identification needed.

I was surprised at the hazard bit and was caught off guard. Luckily I remember what it was like from my full car license so wasn't too bad. I had to identify hazards AFTER parking up after riding around looking while scanning for hazards. Then I would let the tester know where/what the hazards way by signs (thumbs up/down and pointing)!

During the course of the test the only 'maneuver' I had to make was a few u-turns but these were mostly at a cul-de-sac so were piss easy.

It was long and actual riding was at least 45mins. Route consisted of the general Westgate area for 50k zone then out towards Whenuapai airbase and kumeu for high speed riding.

The headset I was given worked really well and I could hear instructions no prob. The tester repeated everything twice just in case and I nodded my head to show I heard him.

All up was a pretty easy test and nothing tricky about it if you know what to expect.

Cheers

choice for sharing this, my restricted is in 4 days. at browns bay so yeah. cheers!:2thumbsup

[Cheech]

No worries.

You go alright?

I had my learners for about 3 years before sitting the test aswell!

[DODO``]

No worries.

You go alright?

I had my learners for about 3 years before sitting the test aswell!

haha same, yup I passed. Easy peasy! :eek: