Of the 539,124 people who have converted their driver licences, 352 licences were revoked, 13,403 were disqualified and 6418 received a 28-day roadside suspension since 2003.

The number of crashes involving overseas drivers who convert their licences to a New Zealand one has risen 16-fold since 2003.

Information released under the Official Information Act by the NZTA show there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents that drivers with converted licences were involved in.

In 2003, only 104 overseas drivers who had converted their licences were involved in accidents compared to 1695 in 2017, with a combined total of 13,311 accidents during the 14-year period.

Of the 539,124 people who have converted their driver licences, 352 licences were revoked, 13,403 were disqualified, and 6418 received a 28-day roadside suspension.

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While some of the overseas drivers had to retake theory and practical driving tests to be able to drive in New Zealand, drivers from 24 exempt countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea and South Africa merely had to hand over a photocopy of their country's driving licence to have it converted.

A 2016 KPMG independent review of the NZTA's driver licensing system found that staff processing overseas driver licences "do not have the knowledge or tools to ensure the validity of the documents".

SAM STRONG/STUFF Australian citizen Liz Burke says it was a straightforward process to convert her licence.

In response, the NZTA said they had "strengthened its processes" to mitigate the risk of fraudulent overseas licences being converted.

"An overseas conversion application may now only be lodged at selected driver licensing agents; a total of 32 sites have been approved nationwide," said NZTA spokesperson, Andrew Knackstedt.

However, on request, the NZTA confirmed that they did not have access to an international database of driver licences that can be checked when an application for a conversion is lodged.

Instead, Knackstedt said they had put "extra checks" in place to assess the validity of the documents such as that converted licences can't be issued on the spot, and for "those people who are not required to sit theory and practical tests it adds a few days to the process".

"We also now require copies of all documents (licences, etc.) submitted with overseas conversion applications to be forwarded to our Palmerston North office to be scrutinised by specialist NZTA staff before the application is released into the driver licensing system.

"In situations where there are doubts about the validity of the documents submitted with the application, the applicant is contacted, and the original documents are requested to be sent to Palmerston North. Where there is any further doubt, information on the licence can be sought directly from the driver licensing agency in the country concerned," said Knackstedt.

NZTA staff can also "make reference to online information from overseas licensing agencies, including an international reference book of driver licences, which provides information on the physical features of driver licences from different jurisdictions, including the various security features that licensing agencies build into their documents (holograms, features only visible under ultraviolet light, etc.)".

The licence conversion process for people with an overseas licence could not be any more "straightforward" a West Coast resident says.

Grey District Librarian Liz Burke of Greymouth, moved from Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, in September of 2014.

Being an Australian citizen, she knew she could drive in New Zealand with her overseas licence until it expired.

The West Coast might not have the same services as city centres like Christchurch, but Burke said she had no trouble dashing into Greymouth department store Smiths City during her lunch break to complete the process.

"Being a small town they were able to do everything right there," Burke said.

But Dog and Lemon editor and road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson said he is concerned that some fake overseas driver licences are still slipping through the cracks.

"You can buy a perfectly authentic-looking fake driver's license online for a few dollars. Yet, when these licenses are presented for conversion in New Zealand, they may be accepted as real. This is alarming."

Matthew-Wilson also said he is "appalled by the statistics".

"The dramatic growth in accidents involving drivers using converted foreign licenses shows there is a serious problem. Some of this growth in accidents may simply be the result of more foreigners driving on our roads. However, there appears to be a disproportionate number of foreign drivers ending up in accidents.

"The previous government appears to have chosen the path of convenience over road safety. There is clear evidence that many foreign license holders do not have the skills to drive our roads safely, yet the government has simply swapped their foreign license for a New Zealand one. And the end result is more dead and injured people."

According to NZTA, there was a total of 246, 436 accidents reported nationwide between 2003 and 2017.

* Minister of Transport Phil Twyford's office said they needed more time do their own research before responding to Stuff's questions.