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| Thread ID: 106489 | 2010-01-10 19:59:00 | Police: Teach tourists road rules | Trev (427) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 847673 | 2010-01-10 19:59:00 | www.nzherald.co.nz What do you think. I don't know how practical this is but I think they should sit some form of basic test before they can drive in NZ. The rental companies should at least give them a NZ Roadcode. :) |
Trev (427) | ||
| 847674 | 2010-01-10 20:33:00 | There are a hell of a lot more local drivers (imports and born-here locals) who should be focussed on first. Money much better spent. Most tourists are a bit nervous about driving in a foreign country and are usually tentative drivers anyway, but locals, holding "Weetbix packet" licences cause far more deaths than tourists ever will. |
johcar (6283) | ||
| 847675 | 2010-01-10 20:52:00 | I beleive but it may have changed that the major rental car companies do supply a copy of the road code to international drivers in addition to giving them a run down on some of the local laws that may be different from where they come from, eg: in NZ, left gives way to right. But 5 or 10 minutes of instruction doesn't do a lot especially if English is not there first language. Though the standards of some of our own drivers leave a lot wanting as well. But what the Highway Patrol see on the open road must be only the tip of the iceberg. Have personally seen campervans well in excess of the speed limit many times, passing on the approach to bends, ignoring rules for entry to one way bridges, on the west coast when they still had that road rail bridge south of Greymouth, a campervan overtook waiting traffic to meet the train midway and then refused to back up though they eventally did, other campervans that do half the speed limit while they admire the view around the Kaikoura coast and so on. Of course, lets not tar every tourist with the same brush, just as many do have some clue's as to good driving. |
PinoyKiw (9675) | ||
| 847676 | 2010-01-10 22:32:00 | If they screw up and hurt people they shouldn't be allowed to leave the country until they have done some jail time. Just like in their countries if we have an accident. | prefect (6291) | ||
| 847677 | 2010-01-10 22:35:00 | Unfortunately, driving offenses, even really serious ones involving injury or death, don't seem to attract a lot of jail time in NZ. | johcar (6283) | ||
| 847678 | 2010-01-10 22:37:00 | Too true but overseas we get incarcerated so if you are from say Indonesia you get locked up like they lock up us until we bribe our way out. | prefect (6291) | ||
| 847679 | 2010-01-11 04:42:00 | they need to be given at least the basic rules. we get a lot of campers that will not drive over the white lines on a turning bay and end up stopped in the middle of the road at a 45 degree. i know of one tourist who got something like $30,000 worth of fines and simply left the country. it will never be paid. they buy cheap cars, no WOF, no rego, don't give a toss about any rules, go anywhere and sh*t on anything they like. then they go home scott free. end of the day, simply lack of traffic enforcement and lack of real penalties is the real problem. go kill a person and its "just an accident". of course tourism is big business so they just turn a blind eye. |
tweak'e (69) | ||
| 847680 | 2010-01-11 05:08:00 | they need to be given at least the basic rules. we get a lot of campers that will not drive over the white lines on a turning bay and end up stopped in the middle of the road at a 45 degree. i know of one tourist who got something like $30,000 worth of fines and simply left the country. it will never be paid. they buy cheap cars, no WOF, no rego, don't give a toss about any rules, go anywhere and sh*t on anything they like. then they go home scott free. end of the day, simply lack of traffic enforcement and lack of real penalties is the real problem. go kill a person and its "just an accident". of course tourism is big business so they just turn a blind eye. There is the odd case of where a tourist driver has ended up in court and they have had to pay up straight away or risk not leaving the country till they paid. Few and far between though. In the case of rental cars and campervans, isn't there a clause in the rental agreements where they can retain a copy of your credit card so any charges relating to tickets etc to that rego number/car can be passed on/collected from your credit card. More and more though are going the back packer route and buying cheap cars and skipping through afterwards. No chance of recovering off them unless they return to NZ. |
PinoyKiw (9675) | ||
| 847681 | 2010-01-11 05:52:00 | Too true but overseas we get incarcerated so if you are from say Indonesia you get locked up like they lock up us until we bribe our way out. My mate in Thailand says he is very careful as he doesn't fancy living on concrete floors and eating fish heads for breakfast.. |
Cicero (40) | ||
| 847682 | 2010-01-11 06:03:00 | mind you i should add......locals don't drive any better in the first place. the tourists might end up knowing the rules better than most kiwis ! LOL | tweak'e (69) | ||
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