Last updated 16:47, April 18 2018
17-year-old Michael O’Brien was going for his restricted license on Monday afternoon in Frankton.
A fuel light came on in the car Hamilton teen Michael O'Brien was sitting his restricted driving licence test in.
His father says it highlights "ridiculousness" in the driving test process, and VTNZ has apologised.
But the O'Briens aren't they only ones who feel they've been failed unfairly or for the most trivial of reasons.
Many drivers have contacted Stuff since O'Brien's story was published - all expressing frustration at the testing process and the causes for them failing.
One of those, 18-year-old Hunter Scott from Auckland, said he'd failed his restricted licence test twice. He'd been driving for almost a year and said he was "pretty confident".
"The first time I failed, the testing officer was taking me back to the VTNZ, as I'd completed the whole test. Someone sped through a red light and I had to brake suddenly. Doing so caused me to immediately fail," Scott said.
"The second time I failed was because I bumped the curb during my parallel park. I didn't go up on the curb, I bumped it. The testing officer told me I had failed."
Michael O'Brien, 17, pictured with dad Jesse O'Brien, was told he had failed his restricted driver licence test because the fuel light turned on halfway through.
Scott said it was "very frustrating" as a young driver to have to go through hundreds of dollars of tests to be legally allowed to drive to work.
"Most people my age don't even have jobs, let alone $90 to spend on a test they're almost definitely going to fail the first time.
"I can't tell you how demoralising it is to then drive home with my licensed driver and see people texting on the motorway, failing to signal before changing lanes, and driving with a general disregard for anyone else. If there are dangerous and unskilled road users that we see on a daily basis, how can the test actually be shown to make sure drivers are safe?"
Scott suggested that drivers should be tested to be above a certain standard rather than failed instantly if they made one or two mistakes.
He was also concerned the testing was too subjective and that inspectors had a pre-conceived view of young, male drivers.
AA driving instructor Michael McCann said O'Brien being failed was "so, so petty".
However, he reminded drivers it was still a test.
"You've got to be realistic about the whole thing. If you go through a stop sign, you're going to fail. You speed, you're going to fail. You pick up your phone ... then you're going to fail instantly," he said.
"But for a fuel light coming on? That is just totally ridiculous."
VTNZ said in O'Brien's case, regrettably, the driver testing officer involved made a mistake.
"One of the pre-test checks carried out is to make sure the vehicle has enough fuel, but if the fuel light does come on during a driver licence test, the officer should continue with the test.
"VTNZ has contacted the customer and apologised for the error, we are refunding his test fee and Michael will be able to re-sit his restricted license test free of charge."
Another driver, Kanika Anusha, said she failed her test because of a flat tyre.
"Couple of years back I booked my driving test and picked the time as the first slot of 7am. Right in the morning when I went out to start my car, I saw a flat tyre and quickly changed to a [spare] tyre," she said.
"I still reached the test place ... on time but and requested the instructors to please reschedule my test time until my car tyre is fixed or let me give the test as it is, but no that guy failed me on the condition of my car not road worthy."
Others have come forward to say they were failed for indicating too long or not long enough, waiting too long at intersections, or they were told they didn't slow down enough when they felt they had.
One even claimed to know of a driver failed for "no water in the windscreen washer bottle".
It seems there is a myriad of ways to fail that surprise drivers - and in 2017, 45 per cent of people who sat a restricted licence test in New Zealand failed, according to the NZ Transport Agency.
McAnn said testing officers were different throughout the country.
"Some have this god-like appearance about them. 'Do as I say, do as I do, otherwise if you don't, you're going to fail' .. not all testing officers are equal."
Despite that, he said the testing system was fair.
McCann said learner drivers were well aware of the road code's rules before being tested.
Despite that, it was common for those who failed to try to find a scapegoat.
"But you can't. You're under a testing situation."
He said there was more chance of that than coming across an unreasonable testing officer.
VTNZ said since taking over the Practical Driving test contract in 2015 it had worked hard to improve the process for driving tests.
"Getting a driver's licence is an important rite of passage for many Kiwis and VTNZ aims for a process that's simple, clear and accessible for everyone.
"VTNZ's focus has been on building a large team of professional and highly trained driver testing officers, introducing a tablet application for recording test results which has improved the transparency and auditability of test results and reducing the wait times for available test slots."
The VTNZ in Frankton, Hamilton, where Michael O'Brien sat his test - and will sit the next one.
SO HOW EXACTLY CAN YOU FAIL A TEST?
Aside from making errors in the tasks you're required to perform during a test, there are other ways to fail.
Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) outlines two types of error you can make during a restricted driving test - critical or immediate failures.
The information is all online and easy to access for learning drivers.
A Critical Error is a serious driving error that doesn't result in immediate danger to any road user or property.
You're allowed to make one Critical Error during Stage one of the test and up to two Critical Errors over the whole test.
Any more than that, you fail.
But before the test even begins, the testing officer should carry out a few checks.
They need to sight the applicant's learner licence to ensure it is current and to confirm their identity and check the vehicle to be used in the test,
The vehicle needs to have a current warrant of fitness or certificate of fitness label, two learner licence plates displayed correctly, current vehicle registration, – a current road user charges label if it is a diesel vehicle, and sufficient fuel to complete the test.
If any of these requirements cannot be met, the test will be cancelled.
The vehicle also has to checked for roadworthiness, and testing officers will conduct a basic inspection.
That check looks at:
- Vehicle posture (for cars only)
- Body work
- Tyres and wheels
- Indicators and brake lights
- Head lights
- Windscreen wipers
- Horn
- Driver/rider safety
Again, if it's not roadworthy, the test won't be going ahead.
Before getting into the details of what you can be failed for during the test, it's worth noting there are exceptions and additional pot holes - so to speak - to look out for on almost every type of error.
You can find out more here.
CRITICAL ERRORS:
- Driving too slow. This includes taking more than 5 seconds to move on where there is ample opportunity to do so.
- Driving too fast. You must stay within the speed limit and drive at a speed appropriate to the conditions during the test.
- Failing to look.
- Failing to signal.
- Blocking a pedestrian crossing.
- Mounting the kerb.
- Stall.
- Incomplete stop at a stop sign.
- Other illegal action. This includes serious errors that don't cause immediate danger to other road users or property. Common examples include cutting corners and turning into the wrong lane on roads with two or more lanes each way.
Some critical failures can become immediate failures if they create a dangerous situation.
Back in 2012, journalist Al Williams tried his luck at the new, tougher driving test. It didn't end well.
IMMEDIATE FAIL ERRORS:
An Immediate Fail error is any driving which results in immediate danger to any road user or property.
As the name suggests, make one of these and it's all over.
Intervention. This means the Testing Officer has to do something or say something to stop something dangerous from happening (e.g. to prevent a crash).
- Fail to carry out instruction.
- Collision. With an object, the kerb, a vehicle or another road user. An exception is if another road user is completely at fault.
- Fail to give way. Failing to give way anywhere - not just at give way signs - is an Immediate Fail Error. So make sure you know the give way rules!
- Excessive speed.
- Stopping in a dangerous position. Examples include: on pedestrian crossings, in intersections on railway crossings and parts of the road marked with cross-hatched yellow 'no-stopping' lines.
- Fail to stop.
- Any other dangerous action. This means anything else that causes immediate danger to road users or property.