DRIVING ambition

IT’S WORTH CHECKING HOW MANY DEMERIT POINTS ARE RECORDED ON YOUR LICENCE

Over recent years, you’ve received a small number of traffic offence notices for speeding. You can’t remember exactly how many and whether you have any demerit points still current. You would hate to lose your licence, so how can you find out this information?

It’s pretty simple. You call up the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) on 0800 822 422. They can arrange to send you a Demerit Point Summary. This is a printout of any active demerit points currently recorded on your driver’s licence. Active demerit points are points for offences occurred within the last two years. If you get 100 or more within two years, then you will be suspended from driving for three months.

You don’t receive demerit points for roadside camera infringement notices, although I have never understood why that is.

You’re nervous about giving over your credit card number when you buy from online sales sites. How can you reduce the chance of fraud? You’re better protected using New Zealand sites than overseas ones. If you’re dealing with a local site, you’re covered by this country’s consumer law. Overseas sites are not answerable to our consumer law. Check that the site offers contact details such as a phone number, email and street address. Check the website has a secure payment system. Look for the image of a small, locked padlock on the page you’ll be entering your card number into. And if the website address begins with “https” instead of the usual

“http”, then it’s more likely to be secure.