A Dunedin teenager found himself in an awkward exchange with local police after hopping in his mum’s car and discovering he didn’t know how to drive.

The 16-year-old ended up getting his car stuck on a coastal road and needed help from police - who discovered the youth didn’t have a driver’s licence.

Dunedin cops got the callout in the early hours of Saturday morning, the teenager called officers and said his car was stuck on a road in Waldronville.

The teen told officers the car was his mother’s and “he didn’t know how to get it to drive”. Photo / NZPA

He explained to the officers the car was his mother’s and “he didn’t know how to get it to drive”.

Police promptly responded, it was when they arrived they determined the teen was not only without a licence but lacked a few basic driving skills.

“He didn’t hold a driver’s licence or know that he had to put his foot on the brake to change the gear to drive,” a police spokesperson said.

The driver was taken home, along with his mother’s car.

Police then proceeded to provide some “basic driver training tips” for passing his learner driver’s test.

The teen was issued a Road Safety Directive, which will forbid him from driving until he obtains an appropriate class of driver’s license.

He was also referred to Youth Aid for a follow-up.

This comes only days after another Dunedin teen made headlines for blaming a cat for smashing his car into a parked vehicle.

Both vehicles ended up destroying a fence and colliding with a neighbouring property.

The 18-year-old said he’d swerved to avoid a cat who was crossing the road.

Nathan Morton is a Christchurch-based reporter with a focus on South Island news. He joined the Herald in 2022.