Getting my New Zealand driving licence! Restricted Licence — Part 2 (Driving Practice)
Recently, I got my Restricted Licence in New Zealand, and I’m sharing what the experience was like. If you’d like a bit of background first, Part 1 is here.
From a “forever Learner” to aiming for the Restricted Licence
My situation looked like this:
I had been on a Learner’s licence for years.
I had no driving experience in Japan.
I felt nervous about driving and didn’t feel confident.
I live in Auckland.
I work during the day.
To get my Restricted Licence, I did the following:
Practised driving with a supervisor
Practised driving with a professional driving instructor
Reviewed road rules
Sat the Restricted Licence practical test (I passed on my second attempt)
In this Part 2 post, I’ll cover the first two items: practising with a supervisor and practising with an instructor.
Practising with a supervisor (my experience)
In the New Zealand licensing process, once you’ve got your Learner’s licence, the core of your practice is driving on the road with a supervisor.
Who can be your supervisor?
First, there are requirements for the supervisor. They must have held a Full Driver Licence for at least two years. Your supervisor sits in the front passenger seat, and you practise within the rules and time restrictions that apply. In my case, my supervisor was a family member. Many people ask family, but it seems some people ask friends as well.
How do you choose practice locations?
When you’re a beginner, it can feel scary to jump straight into normal traffic, so choosing the right practice locations at the start felt very important. I was truly starting from zero, so my very first practice was in a large, empty car park. I went to a wide, quiet car park and drove around inside it first, just to get used to the feel of the car.
That said, some car parks are suitable for practice and some are not (either because they’re not appropriate or because it’s not allowed), so I think it’s important to check the rules and make sure you’re practising in places where it’s permitted.
The next step, of course, becomes practising on public roads. I chose areas near my home where traffic was very light—places with lots of commercial facilities near the edge of town, where it was quieter and easier to practise. In particular, I looked for a few places that had things like cul-de-sacs, simple straight roads, or roads where you could make an easy “loop” and drive around the same route repeatedly without too much pressure.
How practice and improvement worked for me
My general routine was: my supervisor would drive us to the practice location first. Once we arrived somewhere that felt “relatively safe and suitable for practice,” I would switch into the driver’s seat and practise from there. This approach meant I didn’t have to immediately handle difficult roads, and I could focus on driving more calmly.
In the beginning, I was very nervous, and it was much more tiring than I expected. So I kept each session to a set length, and I tried to practise at times when it was bright with good visibility, and when the roads were as quiet as possible. For me, that felt like the safest way to build confidence.
I also practised with an AA instructor in parallel (more on that below), and I think that combination helped a lot. While continuing supervised practice, I improved little by little. Later on—really in the second half of my journey—my supervised practice started to include things like parking practice and driving on the motorway. But that was genuinely “later on,” and I don’t think it’s necessary to push those things too early.
Start by choosing good locations, and expect it to be a long game
In New Zealand, supervised practice is the main way most people build their skills. That’s why finding “good practice locations” matters so much. If possible, I think it’s even better to practise near the driving test centre—around the area where you’re likely to drive during your test.
And one last important reminder: you must display your Learner’s Plate (the L plate) on the car. It’s easy to forget, but it’s essential. If you keep following the rules and practise steadily, you can build confidence step by step.
Practising with a driving instructor (my experience)
Where do you find an instructor?
In my case, alongside my supervised practice, I also took lessons with an AA instructor. AA lessons can be booked through the AA website, and if something comes up, there’s a system for cancelling or rescheduling. I found it very convenient and easy to manage bookings.
AA has many instructors, and I do think “fit” matters. My suggestion (based on my experience) would be to try lessons with a few different instructors at the beginning, and then once you find someone you work well with, continue with that person until you pass.
AA member discounts and lesson packs
Of course, lessons cost money, but AA members can get a discount. Also, if you prepay for a “5-lesson pack,” it works out a bit cheaper than paying one by one. I bought two 5-lesson packs and did a total of 10 lessons with an AA instructor.
Choosing the right area for lessons
One of the most important things for me when learning with an instructor was location. Since you’ll eventually sit your practical test, I recommend practising as close as possible to your test centre, with an instructor who knows that area well. If you’re planning to take the test locally, your instructor can teach you routes that are commonly used in the test and explain “local tricky points” that are specific to that area.
What the first lesson looked like
Out of my 10 lessons, the first few were truly “beginner warm-up” sessions. We focused on getting comfortable with basic control and building familiarity with real road conditions. Later on, we added parking practice, and I drove on the motorway for the first time with the AA instructor. After practising safely that way, I then continued that kind of practice with my supervisor during my own sessions.
Also, because the instructor doesn’t know your driving level at the first lesson, the first session often feels like a short loop around nearby streets—partly as a way for them to see your habits and current skill level. Based on that, the lesson plan for the second session and beyond gets shaped. Unless you’ve already practised a lot and you only want to do mock tests, taking just a single lesson may not be the most effective use of an instructor.
Later lessons and working towards a mock (practice) test
In the later lessons, almost every session became “route practice with a mock test in mind.” For example, if normal driving was fine but parking needed work, we would focus on parking. Or if a specific roundabout felt difficult, we would practise that roundabout repeatedly. Being able to target weak points like this was a major benefit of learning with an instructor.
Mock-test style lessons were especially valuable
What I personally found most valuable was the “mock test” style lesson option. It’s very close to the real practical test: you drive a commonly used test route with the instructor, and then you get feedback afterwards. They tell you very clearly what you did well, what needs improvement, and even whether you would likely pass or fail if you sat the test that day. Because I felt the New Zealand practical test was harder than I expected, this mock test was especially important for me—and I’m very glad I did it.
That’s the overview of how I practised. Next, I’ll finally share my practical driving test experience.
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The Japanese version of this article is available here.
