Federated Farmers remains opposed to the Government’s proposed measures to reduce the number of fatal and serious crashes involving young drivers.

The farmer lobby group says it will soon be harder to obtain a drivers licence than it is to qualify as a private pilot.

‘To get a private pilots licence (PPL) you only have to complete 45 hours of flight instruction but when it comes to driving a car, it’s going to be a different kettle of fish,’ says Federated Farmers transport spokesman, Donald Aubrey.

‘While you have to be 17 to hold a PPL, you can fly solo at 16 and that tells me you can start your flight training at a much earlier age.

‘This shows the Government is going down the wrong track in its proposal to raise the driving age from 15 to 16 as well as requiring 120 hours of supervised driving.

‘It could well take several years to clock up 120 hours too.’

Aubrey points out that this could easily raise the bar to 18 or even older when someone can get their restricted licence, far less a full licence.

‘It makes a mockery of the Prime Minister’s comment that Government is simply linking the driving age to the school leaving age,’ he says.

The federation wants driving age at be retained 15 and young people given enhanced training and more practical experience from an earlier age.

Aubrey says the Government’s planned changes hit rural areas the hardest.

‘These restrictions will make work and community activities much more difficult for our young people, who don’t have the luxury of public transport.’

But Transport Minister Steven Joyce says improving the safety of young drivers is the Government's top road safety priority.

"A disproportionate number of young New Zealanders die on our roads - young Kiwis have a 60% higher fatality rate on the roads than young Australians,’ he says.

Young drivers make up 14.5% of New Zealand's population and 16% of all licensed drivers, but in 2008 they were involved in around 38% of all serious injury crashes.

And between 2000 and 2008 the number of people killed or seriously injured in a crash where a young driver was at fault has increased by about 17%.

"As a first step towards tackling this problem, I will take a package of measures from the strategy to Cabinet this month aimed at improving the safety of young drivers," says Joyce.