Hardest city to get a license

Nearly 20,000 people failed the restricted licence test in Auckland making it one of the hardest places in the country to get a driver’s license. Only 49 per cent of those sitting the test in Auckland passed. Taranaki drivers had the highest rate of failure at 48 per cent. Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch had lower pass rates than the national average. Otago-Southland had the highest success rate of all regions. Sixty-nine per cent of learner drivers passed. The restricted license test went through a major makeover in 2013 to make it more difficult. The national pass rate dropped from 80 per cent in 2011 to 55 per cent in 2014. Differences between testing routes meant there would always be inconsistencies, says Jim Furneaux, NZTA principal adviser of driver training and testing. "Test routes in large cities with more traffic and more complex road networks tend to have lower pass rates than smaller or rural areas."