Drive: The official way to learn to drive
Dawn Pollard, Senior Education Advisor from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) explains how the Drive website and Drive Go app can help you prepare your students to gain their driver licence.
Drive has everything your students need to get ready for the learner, restricted or full licence test.
- Unlock free practice tests
- Interactive road code
- Video resources
Students can use Drive on their own device or as a group. Parents or coaches can also access interactive tools, tips and lessons to help them teach someone to drive. Students can be awarded unit standards for gaining their driver licence. The units count towards NCEA and other qualifications.
Driver licence NCEA credits
Drive is the official starting place to get your students ready for their driver licence tests.
Drive was developed by NZTA and ACC as the official way to learn to drive.
Your students will be able to learn the road rules and get the skills needed to be a good driver and pass their driver licence tests. They’ll even learn the mistakes to avoid. And it’s all free.
To become a fully licensed car driver, students need to pass through three stages. Drive gets them ready:
- Learner licence – learn the road code and unlock real practice tests on the Drive website
- Restricted licence – use the Drive Go app or Drive website to master the driving skills in the practical test
- Full licence – prepare for the test with the Drive website.
Getting ready for the learner licence
To get a learner licence, students first need to learn the road rules. The Drive website makes learning easy with the interactive Drive Road Code. They can work their way through the units and test their learning by completing chapter tests.
For every three chapter tests they complete, they’ll unlock a free practice test. Once they’ve completed all 12 chapters, they’ll get unlimited access.
They can use the Drive website and do the chapters without an account, but they’ll need to sign up to save their progress and unlock the practice tests.
They can use the Drive website on a computer, tablet or phone.
Learner licence
Getting ready for the restricted licence
Once a student has their learner licence, they can learn to drive in a car with a supervisor sitting beside them. Drive Go is the free app, which helps students and their coaches to practise the skills needed to become a safe driver and pass the restricted licence test.
There are 44 skills to practise, all with key steps, learning points and video content. Drive Go allows you to track drives, monitor progress and unlock achievements by completing skills. There are practice tests that can be done with a driving coach, with tips on what the testing officer will look for during the test.
If a student doesn’t have the app, they can still access the 44 skills on the Drive website.
Drive Go is free to download from Google Play or the App Store.
Restricted licence
Preparing for the full licence
The last stage of the journey is to get a full licence.
The Drive website can be used to get ready by watching the video about what happens in the test. The video explains the hazard identification and response tasks that students will be asked to do.
Full licence
Teach someone to drive
If you’re teaching someone to drive, it can be hard to know where to begin. That’s why we created Drive as the official and most reliable resource to guide learner drivers and their support people through the driver licence system.
Start with the interactive Drive Road Code. It’s an effective tool to prepare for the learner licence test and it’s based on the official New Zealand road code.
Then get your learner to install the Drive Go app when they are learning to drive in a car. It helps you focus each driving session on specific skills and assess progress.
The Drive website has hints and tips for being a good coach, information on how to plan a good practice session, and key teaching points for the skills you’ll be working through with your learner. There’s a video library covering the full range of driving skills.
There’s also information on what will be covered in the restricted licence test so you can help your learner prepare.
For more information visit our website at drive.govt.nz
