First graduate finally rid of L plates
A Timaru motorist on her learner licence for 14 years was compelled to get her restricted after her partner suffered a heart attack, and she had to call for help to get him to the hospital.
‘‘My partner’s health is all over the show. He’s a type 1 diabetic and when he had his heart attack, that sealed the deal,’’ Janice Mewhinney said.
‘‘Knowing I can get him where he needs to be, or anyone else in my family, is really good.’’
The 32-year-old has upgraded her licence through the Salvation Army’s Community Driver Mentor Programme, and will be among the first of Timaru’s graduates to be celebrated at a ceremony on December 15.
The free programme, launched in Timaru this year, helps learner drivers get their restricted licence. It focuses on beneficiaries seeking employment, as well as getting those who keep breaching the conditions of their licence out of the justice system. Mewhinney heard about the programme when family and friends bombarded her with messages with a poster about the programme attached.
She never felt a need to upgrade her learner licence because a former partner did all the driving and when she moved to Australia she found the public transport top-notch.
Since returning to New Zealand about five years ago, Mewhinney had used her mother’s car when necessary.
She decided to start pushing for her restricted licence after her partner’s heart attack, when she needed to call her sister and ask to be driven to the hospital.
‘‘I didn’t want to rely on other people if something else happened.’’
Getting her restricted licence about five months ago, Mewhinney planned to sit her full next month.
Programme regional coordinator Chloe O’Neill said Mewhinney had been the first on the course to pass her restricted.