Traffic Cops

[daqinggregg]

I know these types of programs tend to sensationalize things, but watching a recent episode, people driving rentals, the standard of driving is woeful. Someone in a fully loaded diesel MPV trying to overtake a coach appeared to be verging on suicidal.
I’m neither a Kiwi, or living in New Zealand, I know it’s a difficult call and tourism is a big part of New Zealand economy. However, letting people drive rentals, regardless of experience, seems a heavy price to pay, looking at fatality data from the last few years.

[Wanchaiwarrior]

NZ Police website says:

Provisional figures from the Ministry of Transport show there were 320 deaths in 2020, down 32 on the 2019 figure of 352.

So therefore the majority of road deaths were in fact caused by Kiwis.

Can't just blame the tourists

Edited by Wanchaiwarrior on Monday 31st May 04:29

[GravelBen]

Wanchaiwarrior said:

Can't just blame the tourists

True enough, there are plenty of terrible resident drivers too.

However speaking from experience if you live or spend much time in popular tourist areas, you really do see an incredible amount of bad driving from rental cars and campervans etc and get quite proactive at predicting it and taking evasive action.

[Caterhamfan]

GravelBen said:

True enough, there are plenty of terrible resident drivers too.

However speaking from experience if you live or spend much time in popular tourist areas, you really do see an incredible amount of bad driving from rental cars and campervans etc and get quite proactive at predicting it and taking evasive action.

I do live in a "popular tourist area" and believe that New Zealanders have been known to rent cars and campervans. I certainly know a number of local residents who not only own but also drive campervans.........

[GravelBen]

Caterhamfan said:

I do live in a "popular tourist area" and believe that New Zealanders have been known to rent cars and campervans. I certainly know a number of local residents who not only own but also drive campervans.........

And are you suggesting that the majority of rental and camper drivers in a place like Queenstown are likely to be New Zealanders? To be fair, down south here we would count an Aucklander in a rental as a tourist too

Its amazing how much nicer driving around Queenstown / Central Otago / Fiordland areas have been during the last year or so, you still get the odd idiot (like anywhere) but the amount of fruit-loop driving (wrong side of the road, stopping at random on blind corners to take photos, pulling out of rest areas straight in front of you etc...) has decreased greatly. Lower traffic volume overall helps too of course.

I don't know why people get so defensive over tourist drivers, its an easily observable issue. Nobody (I hope) is saying local drivers are perfect and shouldn't look to improve their own driving, but even cops in tourist areas will tell you (off-record) that foreign drivers cause a disproportionate number of accidents and near-misses.

The cause of problems in many cases is probably less the nationality of the driver (though some would have very different levels of training) and more the style of roads and driving they're accustomed to. Flip it around I'd probably be a bit of a clueless tourist driving in a big city as its not a type of driving I do often.

Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 3rd June 22:31

[Caterhamfan]

GravelBen said:

And are you suggesting that the majority of rental and camper drivers in a place like Queenstown are likely to be New Zealanders? To be fair, down south here we would count an Aucklander in a rental as a tourist too

Its amazing how much nicer driving around Queenstown / Central Otago / Fiordland areas have been during the last year or so, you still get the odd idiot (like anywhere) but the amount of fruit-loop driving (wrong side of the road, stopping at random on blind corners to take photos, pulling out of rest areas straight in front of you etc...) has decreased greatly. Lower traffic volume overall helps too of course.

I don't know why people get so defensive over tourist drivers, its an easily observable issue. Nobody (I hope) is saying local drivers are perfect and shouldn't look to improve their own driving, but even cops in tourist areas will tell you (off-record) that foreign drivers cause a disproportionate number of accidents and near-misses.

The cause of problems in many cases is probably less the nationality of the driver (though some would have very different levels of training) and more the style of roads and driving they're accustomed to. Flip it around I'd probably be a bit of a clueless tourist driving in a big city as its not a type of driving I do often.

Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 3rd June 22:31

Taking your final sentence then, you'd probably be a "dangerous tourist" driving around Auckland then

I think it's a great shame that "tourist" has become another example of xenophobic shorthand. "Tourist" drivers can be from anywhere, including New Zealand, I've been one myself on numerous occasions over the past 14 years. The "overseas" tourists copped the blame for the high road toll but, as has been pointed out, their virtual disappearance has simply highlighted that New Zealanders are just as efficient at killing each other on the roads without overseas help. Comparing road tolls with and without overseas visitors should be a more accurate measure than relying on anecdotal evidence (whether from the police or members of the public) - especially when "rental car" or "campervan" is taken as the only evidence needed to identify a driver as being from overseas. "Nationality" is another tricky one and can't be construed accurately just by appearance since New Zealand has a long history of foreign nationals immigrating and many "foreign" looking individuals have been born in New Zealand. Added to which, a lot of the statistics when there were tourists were for accidents "involving" overseas visitors rather than where the driver at fault was indicated. If a Kiwi drove into an overseas tourist that was recorded as "involving" an overseas tourist.

As for the present situation, I can't speak for Queenstown, but the majority of tourists, campervans and rentals passing through Riverton over the past few months have been NZ citizens or permanent residents. Yes, a lot are from the North Island, but quite a few are South Islanders who have decided to "see their own backyard".

Driving habits? Well, there are two "Stop" signs I regularly pass by, both on "T" junctions. Even before Covid, the vehicles that went through without stopping were almost always driven by locals. Ditto the ones that didn't see the need to indicate when pulling out, or pulled out and proceeded to drive at 30kph oblivious to the traffic already on the road, or stopped just round a blind bend to converse with their friend going the other way, neatly blocking the whole road, and so on.

It's bad driving, not "tourists" that is responsible for most of the road toll.

[Esceptico]

We live in Auckland…but are English…and will be touring around the South Island in the summer. Does that make us foreign tourists?

I’ve seen some pretty dodgy driving in NZ - most of the time we have been here has been under Covid so can’t be tourists. Looking where you are going seems to have become optional here in Auckland given the number of people that look at or play with their phones. Although I’m not sure it was any better in the UK.

[NNK]

Kiwis are some of the worst drivers in the world.
No idea which lane to be in and will not move over.
If you see an indicator you know the car is pulling out whether there is room or not.
Lights change to green, each car in queue then slowly gets put into gear and handbrake released so only 4 make it through .
Slow on single lane, speed up when overtaking lane appears
Etc Etc


And why are trucks and trailers allowed in the right hand lane on 3 lane highways/motorways ?

Been here 20 years and now cant wait to leave