3rd Party Insurance Waltz

Harry Duynhoven has done it again.

He has got in very quickly on the heels of yet another motoring tragedy, which is pretty much expected when you're the Transport Safety Minister (or should that be Mini stir).

This time he was on TV3 News in response to a 4WD full of 15 year olds too cool to wear seat belts that over turned with the resulting death and injury.

The problem is that he has come up with the same answer as before

Compulsory Third Party Insurance.

Just how that is supposed to stop 15 year olds on restricted licences carrying passengers and get them to use seat belts when other older more direct laws haven't is beyond me.

I think his theory is that the insurance will be so expensive that they will have to be good careful drivers to be able to afford to own a car.

The fact that Mummy and Daddy may help teen aged offspring into vehicle ownership by paying either the insurance or part if not all of the purchase of the car in question hasn't seemed to have occurred to Harry.

How else does a 15 year old manage to own a car and afford to put fuel in it?

As any under 25 year old knows it is far cheaper, insurance wise, to talk your parents into owning the car and just to be the main driver than it is to own the car in your own name.

Laws only work when people obey them. As this group of 15 year olds has already proved, even the seat belt wearing law has fallen of deaf teen aged ears. No law change will save teenagers like them while they still think they are bullet proof.

How about playing a new tune Harry because no matter which way you look at it compulsory third party insurance will to nothing to improve transport safety.