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Source: ONE News -
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Teenagers flying helicopters to school could soon be a reality once the government raises the driving age.
After turning 16, Sam Botherway is now able to fly himself anywhere, but under proposed new driving laws, his mother would have to drop him at the airfield first.
Botherway says it is preparation, not his age, that counts when it comes to flying.
"The amount of training is incredible. You'd usually do 10 to 20 hours of prep for every hour of flight time, whereas with a car you'd just hop in and go for it."
If the government does raise the driving age, it could see 16-year-old's being able to fly to school - but not drive.
It is a scenario that Federated Farmers say does not seem logical.
"It seems very odd that we can't give Johnny the keys to the Commodore but we can chuck him the keys to the Cesna," says Federated Farmers President, Don Nicolson.
Whatever the scenario, however, professional driving instructors, like Harald Leeuwenburgh, say they want to see more training for drivers on restricted licences.
"People still need to learn to drive at some point, regardless if that's at 15, they still need to go through the phase of learning where they're at risk."
Helicopter instructor Neil Scott says each helicopter flight is directly supervised and if that was the case with cars then the accident rate would be reduced.
