Riding: the rules
The sight of scooter riders nipping through the traffic might suggest the rules don’t apply to them, but yes officer, they do. Fortunately, there’s not very many, and they’re easy to master. The authorities like you to have a licence of some sort, and it’s not much more complicated than that.
You must obey a few basic laws while threading through traffic, there are footpaths you’re not allowed to park on and some bus lanes you’re not allowed in. As a general guideline, Transit, bizarrely, doesn’t like you in the bus lanes in the motorway, but urban bus lanes are OK. Check with your local authority. The rest is common sense.
The simple stages of licensing
Basically, you can ride a moped (under 2kW output, doesn’t go faster than 50kmh, generally 50cc) on a car licence, but if you want anything bigger, you have to get a proper motorcycle licence.
Fortunately, that’s very easy. A scooter – most Vespas for example – with a speed greater than 50kmh is legally defined as a ‘motorcycle’.
Getting a full motorcycle licence is pretty similar to getting your car licence, with three stages of graduated testing.
Starting off is no more difficult than a couple of hours with an instructor, proving you can ride through cones and a multi-choice test much like the one you sat for your car licence. This will give you a learner licence, which should be sufficient until you’ve got some experience under your belt. To tell the truth, many scooter riders just hang out with a learner licence for years – it allows you on bikes up to 250cc, which is well over the capacity of most scooters. Just don’t get caught dubbing someone or riding after 10pm – these are verboten.
Stage “0” – car licence – the moped
You can legally ride a moped on your New Zealand car driver’s licence. If your scooter has a power output of 2kW or under, AND a maximum speed of 50kmh, it is legally defined as a ‘moped’. The most important rule about mopeds is that you CAN’T take one anywhere near a motorway.
Stage “1” – motorcycle learner licence
All anyone over the age of 15 has to do is pass a ‘Basic Handling Skills Test’ by completing a few easy exercises at an approved motorcycle training school. After you have passed this, you can pop along to your local licensing centre and pass a theory test and an eye-sight test.
Stage “2” – restricted licence
You can stay on your learner licence for as long as you want, but the restrictions will eventually get inconvenient. Once you have had it for six months, you can apply for a restricted licence. This involves a practical riding test that is designed to test how you handle your scooter in different traffic situations and road conditions.
When you have your restricted licence, most of the conditions of the learner licence still apply – you can’t carry a pillion passenger; you can’t ride a scooter with an engine bigger than 250cc; you can’t ride between 10pm and 5am. The major bonus is that you can throw away the geeky “L” plate.
Stage “3” – full licence
When you have your full motorcycle licence, none of those earlier restrictions apply to you! You can carry a pillion passenger and drive at whatever time of the day you want. If you are under 25, you can apply for your full licence when you have held your restricted licence for 18 months – this time can be reduced if you have completed a driving course approved by Land Transport NZ. If you are over 25, you can get your full licence as soon as you have had your restricted for six months. Like the restricted licence, this involves a practical riding test, only slightly more complex.
What am I allowed to do that cars aren't?
Despite the fact that your nifty scooter can weave in and out of places a car was never meant to go, the same basic road rules apply when you are on the road. There are, however, a few new things that make scooters just that much cooler than driving a car.
- You can overtake a line of stopped cars and nip to the front of that annoying 5pm traffic queue – IF you do so at a reasonable speed. You want car drivers to be able to see you coming.
- You can overtake cars on roads with a yellow line in the centre, AS LONG as you don’t cross the yellow line and you are indicating. Once again, it cannot be stressed enough that you want car drivers to be able to see you, and common sense applies.
- Scooters can legally use bus lanes, which is great if you live in the city, but be careful when passing buses, especially stopped ones. And you can’t use the bus lanes on the motorways, only in town.
