Accident rise for converted licence holders
for instance, situations.’’
Netsafe, which handles complaints under the legislation that may not pass the criminal threshhold, deals with 50 complaints every week. Only a very small number of people – fewer than 20 – have been prosecuted since the law came into force in 2015.
Chief executive Martin Cocker said his team worked closely with internet service providers and social media platforms to remove harmful content.
He said it was important to judge law enforcement in the context of the pre-emptive action taken by Netsafe to pull down harmful images before they could be distributed widely. Accidents involving overseas drivers who convert their foreign licences to Kiwi licences have risen 16-fold in the past decade and a half.
Figures released under the Official Information Act by the NZTA reveal that, in 2003, only 104 overseas drivers who had converted their licences were involved in accidents compared to 1695 in 2017. They accounted for 13,311 accidents during the 14-year period.
Of the 539,124 people who have converted their driver licences, 352 licences were revoked, 13,403 were disqualified, and 6418 received a 28-day roadside suspension.
While some drivers had to retake theory and practical driving tests to drive in New Zealand, drivers from 24 exempt countries such as the UK, the US, South Korea and South Africa merely had to hand over a photocopy of their country’s driving licence to have it converted.
A 2016 review of the NZTA’s driver licensing system found staff processing overseas driver licences ‘‘do not have the knowledge or tools to ensure the validity of the documents’’.
In response, the NZTA said it had ‘‘strengthened its processes’’.
However, on request, the NZTA confirmed that they did not have access to an international database of driver licences that can be checked when an application for a conversion is lodged.
A spokesman said they had put ‘‘extra checks’’ in place to assess the validity of the documents such as that converted licences can’t be issued on the spot, and for ‘‘those people who are not required to sit theory and practical tests it adds a few days to the process’’.