Confiscated tourist keys

[haydes55]

Hahahahhhahahahahahaha http://mobile.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.php?c_id=1&objectid=11388563

This article cheered me up today (and I wasn't even sad to start with).

Commence with puns, slander and insults.

[Swoop]

It does appear as if this will become the default method of dealing with errant tourist drivers.
The cops are not interested.
The gubbinment has their hands tied (because of ramifications for NZ "wheel-turners" overseas).
Rental vehicle companies want to act on those endangering people and also their hire equipment.

So. It's down to the locals to do the enforcement...

[caseye]

Na , now people, the nice Mr Policeman, he said, don't do this at home.
OK, so what, let them drive on?
Oh yeah, can't ask them to stop, take the keys off them and save lives for sure, or worse run them off the road before they kill someone else.
That'd open you up to other considerations, said Mr Policeman.
What exactly are we supposed to do?

[caseye]

I dont know much about this but when I have hired vehicles locally I have been able to buy a insurance excess reduction. Maybe if tourists could not buy it they would drive more carefully if they knew they were up for several thousand dollars if they pranged. This could be something the Govt could impose on hire vehicle insurers.

There already, most tourists come here loaded with money and are not concerned about what it might cost to insure against big excesses, hence so many get to drive big ol campa vans and noice cars.
Whatever is done here will be reciprocated, so an answer needs to be constructive and workable both ways.
Sitting an international licence before leaving your own country is one possible answer, a bit more cost but if it was mandatory and country govt controlled it'd be harder than the current crop of weetbix packet licences to copy/forge and might deter actual non drivers.

[haydes55]

I dont know much about this but when I have hired vehicles locally I have been able to buy a insurance excess reduction. Maybe if tourists could not buy it they would drive more carefully if they knew they were up for several thousand dollars if they pranged. This could be something the Govt could impose on hire vehicle insurers.


If people are motivated to not crash for fear of losing a few thousand dollars, rather than fear of killing an innocent person, then...... Fuck the world. I'd rather give every cent I earn for life away, than live with the guilt of being responsible for an innocent persons death.

[EJK]

Curry in a hurry.

[Laava]

Curry in a hurry.

Hey mate! Don't be wasis!

[Akzle]

I dont know much about this but when I have hired vehicles locally I have been able to buy a insurance excess reduction. Maybe if tourists could not buy it they would drive more carefully if they knew they were up for several thousand dollars if they pranged. This could be something the Govt could impose on hire vehicle insurers.

lucky you never hit any super speedy dogs in rentals then...

[swbarnett]

Be careful what you wish for people. I, for one, don't want the driving sheeple taking my keys just because they don't like with the way I drive/ride.

[awa355]

Imagine if the guy taking the keys away from the curry muncher had've been this same twit, :eek5::eek5:

Road rage fail: Aggressive NZ driver who hates cyclists

In this case tho' I get the impression that the kiwi driver took the keys with a belief that mr Patel was a genuine threat to other road users. Whether he was right to do so, I dont know.

[PrincessBandit]

I had to smirk when the tourist was reported as denying he'd done anything wrong. WTF? Maybe where he comes from his overtaking and driving style is 'normal'??
What could have been handled better was the way the driver dealt with him. If you're going to be the road hero acting in the public safety, then you probably need to go the next step further and try to assist, rather than disappearing with his keys. Tricky situation when there is no cell coverage, but surely there could have been something more appropriate than leaving them stranded and at the mercy of goodness only knows what.

[jasonu]

I had to smirk when the tourist was reported as denying he'd done anything wrong. WTF? Maybe where he comes from his overtaking and driving style is 'normal'??
.

Apparently he is from Australia.
Along with a couple of other posters I don't like the thought of self appointed driving police (vigilantes) running around taking keys from other drivers because they don't like the way the camper van overtook another vehicle or maybe the way the camper van parked a bit too far from the curb.

[mashman]

but surely there could have been something more appropriate than leaving them stranded and at the mercy of goodness only knows what.

http://www.chud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Deliverance-copy.jpg

[PrincessBandit]

Apparently he is from Australia.
.

Ohhhh, 'nuf said :dodge:

[neels]

I think I'd get pretty pissed off if someone took it upon themselves to remove my keys and leave me in the middle of nowhere, because in their opinion my driving didn't meet the(ir) required standard.

It was in the news a while back where the police removed the keys from a tourist at the instruction of the rental company after he was reported by several other drivers, and he passed the cop that was heading out to look for him at about 140k's, so it does happen and if the police see fit then probably fair enough. His excuse was that he was running later than planned on his day trip from Franz Josef to Mt Cook and back.

[Berries]

These fucking tourists should all be shot - Tourist-tboned-caravan-in-mount-bruce-crash. (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/65233432/tourist-tboned-caravan-in-mount-bruce-crash)

When you look at the stats I am sure you can prove farmers are the root of the problem, just a shame they don't make the same headlines.

[BlackSheepLogic]

In this case tho' I get the impression that the kiwi driver took the keys with a belief that mr Patel was a genuine threat to other road users. Whether he was right to do so, I dont know.


I'm not a big guy but followed one cunt home and got the typical fuck-u attitude. Brother rolls up couple of mins latter on his cruiser looking for me and the guy starts begging for forgiveness (my brother is about 3x my size).

[zooter]

Fully 25% of major crashes in Southland involve foreigners driving rentals. It used to be the cops would take their keys, but the lawyers got involved and the cops had to back down. They were relying on two distinct pieces of law to jump from dangerous driving to instant licence suspension. Scumdog can full in the blanks.

[Akzle]

I'm not a big guy but followed one cunt home and got the typical fuck-u attitude. Brother rolls up couple of mins latter on his cruiser looking for me and the guy starts begging for forgiveness (my brother is about 3x my size).

what a faggot

[blue rider]

Fully 25% of major crashes in Southland involve foreigners driving rentals. It used to be the cops would take their keys, but the lawyers got involved and the cops had to back down. They were relying on two distinct pieces of law to jump from dangerous driving to instant licence suspension. Scumdog can full in the blanks.

I am sure Scumdog will be more than happy to fill in the blanks and hand over a ticket for something. :)

[scumdog]

All day long I hear on the radio about driving complaints, about THE most common thing to hear on the air.

And I'd put money on a full 90%+ being cars registered to rental companies.
Mostly being driven on the Lindis Pass, in the Kawarau Gorge and the Crown Range road.

Close those roads and ban rental cars and the problem would be gone..:whistle::wacko::crazy:

[blue rider]

aside from that,

when at the AA i was told that I could hand in my german drivers license and I would on the spot get a NZ driver lisence.

WTF..... i looked at the Lady and asked her if she was joking...Surely I say there must be a test, a driving around the block kind o test, or maybe a few multiple questions type o test, something....please assure me. Nope....nothing....nada....zilch...nix.

She asked me if I wanted a NZ driver lisence and if I would just hand her over mine from Germany and she would get it done pronto on the spot.
I have been terrified of NZ driver ever since....really really scary, it was that easy.

[swbarnett]

aside from that,

when at the AA i was told that I could hand in my german drivers license and I would on the spot get a NZ driver lisence.

WTF..... i looked at the Lady and asked her if she was joking...Surely I say there must be a test, a driving around the block kind o test, or maybe a few multiple questions type o test, something....please assure me. Nope....nothing....nada....zilch...nix.

She asked me if I wanted a NZ driver lisence and if I would just hand her over mine from Germany and she would get it done pronto on the spot.
I have been terrified of NZ driver ever since....really really scary, it was that easy.
Perhaps it's just the fact that if you have a German license you're more than likely to be of a higher standard than the average Kiwi driver. Probably no though as I think this applies to a number of countries that you can't say this about.

When I got my Swiss license I had to do a full practical test. Now that was a challenge when about the only German I know was the words was right and left (plus a few others that came in handy) and the tester knew no English at all.

[Laava]

aside from that,

when at the AA i was told that I could hand in my german drivers license and I would on the spot get a NZ driver lisence.

WTF..... i looked at the Lady and asked her if she was joking...Surely I say there must be a test, a driving around the block kind o test, or maybe a few multiple questions type o test, something....please assure me. Nope....nothing....nada....zilch...nix.

She asked me if I wanted a NZ driver lisence and if I would just hand her over mine from Germany and she would get it done pronto on the spot.
I have been terrified of NZ driver ever since....really really scary, it was that easy.

I did a straight swap in the UK for my kiwi license. Just pay a fee and voila! Full european license car, bike and self laying tracks!

[Berries]

Fully 25% of major crashes in Southland involve foreigners driving rentals.
And how many cars on the road in Southland do you think are rentals being driven by foreigners? The figure matters but nobody knows. The link I posted above is another one of those crashes involving bloody foreigners to add to the stats and yet it had nothing to do with them being from overseas.

Get on the Lindis and the Crown Range and the number of rentals goes through the roof. All things being equal you would expect the number of crashes involving them to go through the roof as well. And they do. Are they over represented? They are if you read the headlines in the papers but I have my doubts. I see them as an easy scapegoat so we don't have to consider our own shit driving. By the powers of my deduction fully 75% of major crashes in Southland do not involve foreigners, and the figure is even higher elsewhere.

[Moi]

Mostly being driven on the Lindis Pass, in the Kawarau Gorge and the Crown Range road.

Those are not difficult roads to drive on... though the Crown Range was fun in the days before it was sealed...

[mossy1200]

Something smells.

If we are the worst drivers in the history of developed countries how can tourists be an issue?

There are only 3 explanations

A- Were not as bad as they say.
B- We have the worst roads in the world
C- People with poor skills are searching for spots to drive where insurance companies don't know their names.

[scumdog]

Something smells.

If we are the worst drivers in the history of developed countries how can tourists be an issue?

There are only 3 explanations

A- Were not as bad as they say.
B- We have the worst roads in the world
C- People with poor skills are searching for spots to drive where insurance companies don't know their names.

From my overseas travels it seems that while the overseas drivers seem to be 'bad' they are also more defensive than NZ drivers - they expect the worst from the other driver and drive accordingly.

Rather than as NZ drivers do - expect the other drivers to be as 'good' as them.

And also drive accordingly.

And Kiwi drivers don't 'share' the road - they think they 'own' it.

[mossy1200]

And Kiwi drivers don't 'share' the road - they think they 'own' it.

Im just leasing the bits that I ride on. Sharing is caring.

[zooter]

aside from that,

when at the AA i was told that I could hand in my german drivers license and I would on the spot get a NZ driver lisence.

WTF..... i looked at the Lady and asked her if she was joking...Surely I say there must be a test, a driving around the block kind o test, or maybe a few multiple questions type o test, something....please assure me. Nope....nothing....nada....zilch...nix.

She asked me if I wanted a NZ driver lisence and if I would just hand her over mine from Germany and she would get it done pronto on the spot.
I have been terrified of NZ driver ever since....really really scary, it was that easy.
Terrified is a bit strong.

Generally Euro drivers are much more courteous than locals in city driving. Chinese cause much consternation. Today I was almost hit by a flustered Chinese lady at a small roundabout. I was about to cross her path she came at me and we both stopped.

The worst one joined me from my right in the median strip from his give way as I was about to turn right. He stopped in front of me. Then he attempted to reverse 3 point turn back into the traffic flowing behind, gave up and parked back in front of me, sat for a bit then charged into the traffic to my left attempting to go around me on the wrong side off the road to get back on course. Much squealing of braking tyres honking horns, back he comes in front of me. Then he proceeds with the traffic doing 20kph looking to pull a U turn.

Being German we know you are better than that!

[zooter]

All day long I hear on the radio about driving complaints, about THE most common thing to hear on the air.

And I'd put money on a full 90%+ being cars registered to rental companies.
Mostly being driven on the Lindis Pass, in the Kawarau Gorge and the Crown Range road.

Close those roads and ban rental cars and the problem would be gone..:whistle::wacko::crazy:

What about the Kingston to Queenstown Rd? I passed about 20 cars on my 150cc Vespa one time, always with clear line of sight I swear. They were all held up by two or three rentals doing snail pace. The whole lot had passed me in the preceding 30 or 40 km, that's how slow they were going when they got to the lakeside twisties.

[Berries]

Something smells.

If we are the worst drivers in the history of developed countries how can tourists be an issue?

There are only 3 explanations

A- Were not as bad as they say.
B- We have the worst roads in the world
C- People with poor skills are searching for spots to drive where insurance companies don't know their names.
You missed D, the big tourist problem is with drivers from undeveloped countries like India and dare I say it China where driving standards are pretty much rickshaw and tuktuk. Take those two out of the equation and you are left with Israelis, Americans and mainland Europeans who generally have decent driving skills but can occasionally make an honest mistake and be on the wrong side of the road. Then you have the Australians and Brits who are the most common people to crash due to their numbers and the familiarity they think they feel because they speak the same language and the signs are in English. But they forget about point B.


Those are not difficult roads to drive on... though the Crown Range was fun in the days before it was sealed...
It's even more funnerer now it is sealed. And the slow tourists are simply mobile chicanes that add further interest, I look forward to catching up with them and the queues they cause when on two wheels so I can practice my Akaroa style multi vehicle overtakes.


Some good comments at the bottom of this page of the ODT - Aussie aussie aussie. (http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/330522/driver-who-took-keys-not-sorry#comment-66913)

[speights_bud]

I did a straight swap in the UK for my kiwi license. Just pay a fee and voila! Full european license car, bike and self laying tracks!
Brother in law swapped his restricted kiwi licence for a full UK licence when he moved there 8 years ago, married a bird there. He just drives on his UK licence when he's back in Nz visiting. Never had to sit a full test in either country....

[BlackSheepLogic]

when at the AA i was told that I could hand in my german drivers license and I would on the spot get a NZ driver lisence.
WTF..... i looked at the Lady and asked her if she was joking...Surely I say there must be a test, a driving around the block kind o test, or maybe a few multiple questions type o test, something....please assure me. Nope....nothing....nada....zilch...nix.

Most of the time it done though a reciprocal agreement, which would allow NZ could do the same in Germany.
I've traded my license in the past for a UK license. In the US I had to take the full test. Either way, it really is not hard to pass a license and I don't think it magically makes a driver better.


She asked me if I wanted a NZ driver lisence and if I would just hand her over mine from Germany and she would get it done pronto on the spot. I have been terrified of NZ driver ever since....really really scary, it was that easy.

If you feel overwhelmed to drive safely on the NZ roads, then I suggest working with a licensed driving instructor. They will go out with a student even if that student has a full license.

[Swoop]

All day long I hear on the radio about driving complaints, about THE most common thing to hear on the air.
Is this on the "work" radio? :rofl:

I did a straight swap in the UK for my kiwi license. Just pay a fee and voila! Full european license car, bike and self laying tracks!
That is handy. In fact, very handy, for the German Army when they go on overseas "vacations" throughout Europe.;)

[BlackSheepLogic]

Fully 25% of major crashes in Southland involve foreigners driving rentals. It used to be the cops would take their keys, but the lawyers got involved and the cops had to back down. They were relying on two distinct pieces of law to jump from dangerous driving to instant licence suspension. Scumdog can full in the blanks.

Tourists do get a lot of media attention when there's an accident and inevitable the public dams the tourist. There's certainly mistakes some tourist make by so do other road users. Also, the primary party at fault my not have been the tourists .

Where in the world a tourist is coming from probably makes a difference. In some countries I've been in traffic never moved faster that 30Km/h and I could see tourists from those places overwhelmed. But we lump all the tourists into one bucket to avoid a implied racial prejudice.

Defensive driving by all road users would make our roads safer but few seek out the training.

[jasonu]

Fully 25% of major crashes in Southland involve foreigners driving rentals. .

Any stats or actual proof to back up this statement?

My bet is the actual percentage amount of foreigner visitor accidents hasn't changed by more than the actual percentage increase of road users or percentage increase of foreigners using NZ roads. Now that in recent times the crap NZ media has found that reporting on all of these incidents is selling more papers, advertising slots etc you will hear about EVERY INCIDENT involving said foreigners weather it is their fault or not.

[Moi]

zooter said: Fully 25% of major crashes in Southland involve foreigners driving rentals.

Any stats or actual proof to back up this statement?

But don't Southlanders consider people from Otago to be foreigners? :laugh:

[jasonu]

Close those roads and ban rental cars and the problem would be gone..:whistle::wacko::crazy:

Along with a huge amount of tourist cash. They will never do that.

[scumdog]

Is this on the "work" radio? :rofl:



What else?? and why do you have to ask<_<

[buggerit]

I reacon if we gave rental companies the choice of $1000 relicencing for their vehicles, or come up with a system to assess clients
driving ability, we may see an improvement.

[Akzle]

Defensive driving by all road users would make our roads safer but few seek out the training.

having done 'defensive driving' through the aa, im saddened and scared at the fuckwits doing it and the fuckall content of it, mostly clueless teenage/girls doing it to get time off their restricted so they can drive mums suv.

What we need is offensive driver training. Mandatory.

[scumdog]

...mostly clueless teenage/girls doing it to get time off their restricted so they can drive mums suv.



Lemme guess - you were one of those teenage girls?:rofl::nya::shutup:

[Swoop]

What else?? and why do you have to ask<_<
I thought the cricket games would have been broadcast over that frequency.:msn-wink:

[Akzle]

Lemme guess - you were one of those teenage girls?:rofl::nya::shutup:

no. My mum doesnt have an suv.

[zooter]

Any stats or actual proof to back up this statement?

My bet is the actual percentage amount of foreigner visitor accidents hasn't changed by more than the actual percentage increase of road users or percentage increase of foreigners using NZ roads. Now that in recent times the crap NZ media has found that reporting on all of these incidents is selling more papers, advertising slots etc you will hear about EVERY INCIDENT involving said foreigners weather it is their fault or not.
Actually I misremembered, ODT today puts that 25% figure just for the Queenstown police area. I don't think that covers Te Anau to Milford but would include western side of Lindis pass which does a lot of damage.

[Tazz]

Any stats or actual proof to back up this statement?

My bet is the actual percentage amount of foreigner visitor accidents hasn't changed by more than the actual percentage increase of road users or percentage increase of foreigners using NZ roads. Now that in recent times the crap NZ media has found that reporting on all of these incidents is selling more papers, advertising slots etc you will hear about EVERY INCIDENT involving said foreigners weather it is their fault or not.

Yeah there was a comment on the article saying why doesn't this happen to boy racers. It fully does, I know of a few cases (and then there are the ones where tyres are let down instead of keys taken...), but yeah, not as 'news worthy'.

Fucking media.

That said, a Chinese dude boarded in the same place as me for the first year of high school and he lost 2 friends (out of 30 or so Chinese at school) that year to crashes that were their fault, and he had an accident that year as well but just a fender bender. They don't do open road driving over there so are terrible at it here.

[Berries]

Actually I misremembered, ODT today puts that 25% figure just for the Queenstown police area. I don't think that covers Te Anau to Milford but would include western side of Lindis pass which does a lot of damage.
The figures that get quoted are for crash involvement not fault so are rather meaningless, simply a reflection that they have a lot of tourists in Queenstown.


My bet is the actual percentage amount of foreigner visitor accidents hasn't changed by more than the actual percentage increase of road users or percentage increase of foreigners using NZ roads.
That has been the case for many years but, without making sweeping generalisations, the Chinese are shit drivers with a completely different mind set and they are coming over here and driving in far greater numbers than ever before. Whereas incidents such as the one in this story were fairly rare five years ago you can almost see it on a daily basis in Queenstown now, it's shocking.

[zooter]

The figures that get quoted are for crash involvement not fault so are rather meaningless, simply a reflection that they have a lot of tourists in Queenstown.


That has been the case for many years but, without making sweeping generalisations, the Chinese are shit drivers with a completely different mind set and they are coming over here and driving in far greater numbers than ever before. Whereas incidents such as the one in this story were fairly rare five years ago you can almost see it on a daily basis in Queenstown now, it's shocking.

Not so. 25% caused by foreigners was what I read. The headline was misleading bullshit though. Something about 83% of crashes involving tourists being fault of the tourist. A good chunk of the bad ones will be tourist on tourist and single vehicle incidents, hard to escape that statistic!

I counted rentals on the Kingston highway one day. It was less than 1/4. Where's your data?

[Berries]

I counted rentals on the Kingston highway one day. It was less than 1/4. Where's your data?
In CAS. I provide the data to the media and the Police so have a pretty good handle on how difficult it is to determine fault using it.

I come back to the important question though. If 25% of drivers are from overseas (which is around your 1/4 seeing as not all rental vehicles are easily identifiable) then it stands to reason that 25% of crashes will be caused by them. If that is the case then there is no problem, just a media feeding frenzy.

Today's paper - Queenstown crash (http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/330624/driver-makes-accidental-smashing-entrance-bank-office). Was it because he was Dutch, was it because he was driving an unfamiliar vehicle? Was it his age? Had he been on the piss after a round of golf? Who knows. The only guarantee is that it will be counted as a crash caused by an overseas driver and yet does that have any relevance to the actual incident?

[Virago]

...I counted rentals on the Kingston highway one day. It was less than 1/4. Where's your data?

How exactly did you determine which were rentals? Where's your data?

[zooter]

How exactly did you determine which were rentals? Where's your data?

Rentals all used to have their COF sticker under the rear view mirror.

[zooter]

In CAS. I provide the data to the media and the Police so have a pretty good handle on how difficult it is to determine fault using it.

I come back to the important question though. If 25% of drivers are from overseas (which is around your 1/4 seeing as not all rental vehicles are easily identifiable) then it stands to reason that 25% of crashes will be caused by them. If that is the case then there is no problem, just a media feeding frenzy.

Today's paper - Queenstown crash (http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/330624/driver-makes-accidental-smashing-entrance-bank-office). Was it because he was Dutch, was it because he was driving an unfamiliar vehicle? Was it his age? Had he been on the piss after a round of golf? Who knows. The only guarantee is that it will be counted as a crash caused by an overseas driver and yet does that have any relevance to the actual incident?
What's CAS?

I don't know where ODT get their data, or who interprets it into print. The obviousness of 100% of tourist on tourist and single vehicle crashes involving a tourist at fault indicates foolishness at best, mischief at worst.

I don't have a problem with a visiting Dutch drunk golfer crash being included under "tourist driver" for the "us" vs. "them" breakdown.

I'm certain I read 25% of total was caused by tourists, which is clear cut.

[scumdog]

That has been the case for many years but, without making sweeping generalisations, the Chinese are shit drivers with a completely different mind set and they are coming over here and driving in far greater numbers than ever before. Whereas incidents such as the one in this story were fairly rare five years ago you can almost see it on a daily basis in Queenstown now, it's shocking.

Yep, with tons of 'new wealth' in China we're getting HEAPS more visiting NZ than 8 - 10 years ago, heaps.

And having travelled many miles on Chinese roads and seen their driving I can see why they have a problem driving in NZ.

[Berries]

What's CAS?
The national crash database.

[zooter]

The national crash database.
You go to crash sites to measure data and interpret it, or sit at a desk analysing data that has been already interpreted, or interpret data supplied from flatfoots? I base that question on seeing the SCU on TV where the site investigators follow through from initial investigation to prosecution.

[Berries]

All three, although I had never considered myself an interpreter before.

Merci beaucoup.

[jasonu]

You go to crash sites to measure data and interpret it, or sit at a desk analysing data that has been already interpreted, or interpret data supplied from flatfoots? I base that question on seeing the SCU on TV where the site investigators follow through from initial investigation to prosecution.

What's SCU?

[Berries]

CSI for dyslexics.

[haydes55]

What's SCU?


Serious crash unit

[Swoop]

What's SCU?

A bunch of blokes in overalls, who like to measure roads*.



*Whilst closing said road for approximately four hours, normally in peak-hour traffic, to fuck off the population - just so they can write a little story.

Really they should just be given brooms, sweep the road clean and get traffic flowing again!

[cynna]

may as well take keys off all those over 65 while we are at it

[Akzle]

may as well take keys off all those over 65 while we are at it

and under 60.

And wimmen, azns, gays, townies, pakis, ragheads...