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There hasn\'t been too much in the news about the new drivers
licences in the last week or so. One might almost be forgiven
for thinking that all the bugs have been ironed out. Well think
again. Being lumbered with being a Gemini I now have approximately
50 days left in which to obtain a new licence. On Friday I wondered
down to the AA (who have a Nth Island monopoly on issuing licences)
only to be told that the computer had crashed for the 2nd
time that day and there no way they could issue any more licences.
On Tuesday I went back again and dutifully stood in a queue of about 10
people. In 20 minutes, the queue had not moved at all. It doesn\'t
take much math to figure out that I\'d be hanging around in the queue
for several hours.
Then of course, there is the issue of how long it takes before you
receive your new licence. It is supposed to be less than 21 days and they let
your old licence continue for that period. However, many people have not received
their licence in specified period.
There are still more privacy concerns. In the privacy act statement on
the back of the licence renewal form (which had some of my details incorrect) it is stated that
\"Information relating to your driver licence status (but not
your photo) may be released under the Land Transport Act 1988.\"
This implies that they can release/sell your digitised signature.
To top it all off. You can no longer directly talk to anyone from the LTSA. The 0800 number
used to go to a call centre where you can talk/complain/whinge to a real person. All you
can do now is leave your name and telephone number on a voice mail system so that they
can harass/ignore you at their own will.
What are your experiences with the new drivers licence system. Has anyone actually
received their new licence? Let us know by send email to licence.woes@silver-bullet.co.nz.
We\'d love to hear from you.
