13 Oct 2006

Samoa requires drivers to take defensive driving courses

2:32 pm on 13 October 2006

Samoa's Transport Control Board says anyone holding a Samoan drivers license needs to take a defensive driving course.

The board's decision is aimed at combatting the increasing number of accidents caused by negligent driving.

The assistant chief executive officer, Tusa Misi Tupuola, says the new curriculum covers all driving skills that a driver must improve on, duties of drivers, regulatory signs, traffic lights and regulatory orders.

He says the curriculum driving standards are the same in Australia and New Zealand.

In past years, holders of Samoa drivers licenses were able to renew their licenses every 5 years.

But that's no longer the case, and Tupuola says the Board will not allow any renewal without the driver gaining a certificate of completion from the Defensive Driving Course.