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New Zealand Specific Healthcare Question 8


​Would you sign a petition to raise the driving age to 18 in New Zealand and why?


Excellent Answer​​
Young drivers are over-represented in the statistics involving serious and fatal crashes and so increasing the driving age would theoretically lower these. However, there are still those who drive without a license, do not adhere to the conditions on their license or in conditions in which they are not competent, this will still be an issue regardless of if the age was increased. Raising the driving age to 18 would also disadvantage individuals who are younger than 18 as well as those who are 18 and only just beginning to learn to drive who rely on a car to get to their place of work or study.
 
Individuals who live in the major cities such as Auckland and Wellington who are fortunate enough to live within the zones for public transport would be less impacted than those who live in the regions where public transport is less established.
 
This would severely disadvantage these individuals in terms of their ability to study or work and increase the number of people unable to gain meaningful employment. 
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