Demerit points on way for driving unlicensed vehicles

Changes to vehicle licensing regulations will help prevent fraud and be a deterrent to those who try to dodge payment, says Transport Minister Steven Joyce.

The government has agreed to change the penalties for those caught by the police while driving unlicensed vehicles by reducing fines and introducing demerit points.

“We know there are people who would currently rather risk the fine than pay their licensing fees,” Mr Joyce said.

“That’s unfair to other law-abiding motorists. Demerit points can act as a stronger deterrent than fines as repeat offenders will face the loss of their drivers licence.”

Other steps taken include allowing the NZ Transport Agency to require people to surrender licence plates when putting their licensing on hold or to decline an application to put licensing on hold when a person has abused this right in the past.

“There is a segment of drivers and motorcyclists who put their vehicle license on hold while continuing to drive their vehicle as a way of avoiding payment. These measures combined with the added threat of demerit points, send a strong message that the government will not tolerate this,” Mr Joyce said.

“The largest segment of the license fee is an ACC levy that covers the cost of road injuries. These people are on the road and face the same risks as the rest of us.

“In fact, many unlicensed vehicles are driven by high-risk drivers. It’s simply not acceptable for them not to pay their fair share as law-abiding New Zealanders do.”

The changes are planned to come into force on May 1.

The new penalties apply only to those tickets served personally by a police officer.

Police will continue to give a person ticketed for the first time with an unlicensed car a two-week grace period to license their vehicle before any penalties apply. 

                                                  Current penalty                 Planned new penalty
Unregistered                                  $200                            $150 plus 20 demerit points
No plates affixed                           $200                             $150 plus 20 demerit points
Driving while licence on hold      $200                            $150 plus 20 demerit points
Unlicensed vehicle                        $200                            $100 plus 15 demerit points
Current licence label not affixed $200                             $75