In an effort to to keep themselves and their families safe, some New Zealanders are seemingly and against police advice, taking the law into their own hands and stopping and confiscating the keys from cars being driven erotically woops, erratically.
Foreign drivers have been found responsible for a high number of fatalities on roads in this country's high density tourist areas.
There have been several instances where tourists, foreign and usually Asian have been observed driving on the wrong side of the road
or just driving dangerously.
Lately they've been followed, had their keys taken from the ignition and the police and rental companies called to deal with the problem.
Many have had their rental agreement cancelled and received either a driving infringement notice or a harsh warning from the police. Some have been prosecuted, found guilty and punished by the court system.
Unfortunately too many of the drivers on New Zealand's roads have no knowledge of the road rules, seem not to understand the English language or take no notice of the road signs.
And they aren't only the tourists.
For another wonderfully satirical take on the matter, have a visit here...
As a former commercial truck driver here in NZ, I'm finding this current obsession with the media to be very unbalanced. The average local driver here, in my opinion, and based on my commercial driving experience, should not be allowed on the road, yet it is these same people complaining about ALL foreign drivers. Can you spell xenophobic? The biggest difference that I see in foreign drivers, is a tendency to drive on the wrong side of the road, which in my experience driving in America indicates takes about a week to naturally switch. It is also not that uncommon to see New Zealanders struggling to stay on the left hand side of the road, which they should have been working on since they started driving.
ReplyDeleteFinally, we have heard about how many road fatalities have been attributed to tourist drivers, But, I have yet to see that figure put into context with the total number of road fatalities that we have here annually; in the hundreds, I believe.
I think you got xenophobic correct Stu.
DeleteAnd the rest of your comment too...
People are getting crazier everuwhere.
ReplyDeleteThere's something in the water Gorges...
DeleteI regularly drive on Europe's roads. Apart from Romania's drivers, i think New Zealanders have to be among the worst I've come across.......impatient, rude and impervious to rules such as speed limits and double yellow lines. As for the matter of locals confiscating tourist's car keys, The Civilian has reported a bit of tit-for-tat......tourists confiscating alcohol off inebriated New Zealanders in city streets.
ReplyDeleteThanks PB. Could Romania's drivers really be worse than New Zealanders. Sounds far fetched to me but I've included a link to The Civilian's wonderful satirical piece on the matter at the bottom of the post. I'm sure it will be enjoyed...
DeleteJust watch the Russian car crash compilations to see some really scary driving. Especially in snow and ice. They don't seem to understand the physics of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd stop signs and traffic signals don't mean much there.
I have driven all my life in the US, and i have driven some here in NZ, i cannot really tell the difference between either country. It seems the same really as far as how people drive. Everyone in a hurry to get somewhere. Big problem for me driving on the left side of the road - too dangerous (i mean i am the danger). I was going to pay for a driving instructor ($50 hour) here in Whangarei, but my license expired, so i gave up on that idea.
ReplyDelete