Harald Leeuwenburgh: A1 Driving School owner on the Government's proposal to scrap the second practical driving test

A driving instructor says the full-license test is important for weeding out bad habits.  

The Government is proposing scrapping that last exam for new drivers - letting them move from a restricted to a full licence after 18 months, as long as they have no driving offences. 

It's calling the current system 'expensive' and 'inefficient'. 

But A1 Driving School owner Harald Leeuwenburgh says it helps maintain high driving standards.

"A lot of it is an observation - people are not just looking around and not scanning properly at intersections and making poor decisions. That's really a big one that causes lots of accidents."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good afternoon to you. Now, getting your full license will
no longer require a final driving test if the government
gets his way. They're considering dropping the test because it's
quote time consuming and inefficient. Harold Luvenberg is the owner
of a one driving school and is with us now.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey, Harold, Hello, how are you.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm very well? Thank you. Good idea to drop this
final test?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
No, I don't think so. No, it is really good
to have the extra test and getting people like if
people have lost that the standard, have dropped their standard
of driving, it's good to do another test and to
just get back up to their standard again.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
The government says the reason that they're doing this is
because it's expensive and it's also stressful for people. But
neither of those things are generally things I would consider
this government to be too worried about and buy it,
do you.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
No, I don't think so either.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
No.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
And I can't see the stress. I mean, I suppose
every test can be stressful, but if you're well prepared,
then it shouldn't be stressful at all, like any test.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
So what's the real reason that they're dropping it?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Well, sure, Actually I think it's more what the rest
of the world is doing like the rest of the world.
There's only one driving test, so that's probably what they
want to get more in line.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
With how many people do you fail in that test?

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, we don't do the testing ourselves, but I mean,
I don't have the results for that in front of me.
But it's not as high as the restricted license test
because it is a much easier test.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
But I mean, basically what I'm asking is is this
test actually weeding out bad drivers? I like a significant
number of people being failed and kept off the road,
because that's terrible.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
That's a good question. It's just bad habits. So I
suppose people just have bad habits, and a lot of
it is in observation. People are just not using not
looking around them properly and not scanning properly at intersections
and making poor decisions. That really a big one which
causes a lot of accidents.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Harold, thank you very much, Really appreciate your expertise. It's
Harold Livenberg, who's the owner and a driving instructor at
a one driving school.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
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