Is it too easy for tourists to come here and kill people?

[HenryDorsetCase]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/new...d-in-car-crash

Plus that fucking Chinese bint that killed the two motorbike riders last year, plus the other chinese cunt that killed the young dude.

Kiwi drivers are fucking hopeless, we all know that, but we have also all heard or had the near misses with fucking tourists. I remember coming round a corner on the West Coast on the bike and some useless cunt is stopped in the middle of the road taking pictures. I missed him by about 300mm because he was standing on the driver side of the van taking photos of the other side of the road. Fucker.

Wonder whether there will be any will to do anything now two young innocent white girls from a wealthy suburb have been murdered by this fucking hemp smoking licorice eating fuckwit?

[Katman]

Wonder whether there will be any will to do anything now two young innocent white girls from a wealthy suburb have been murdered by this fucking hemp smoking licorice eating fuckwit?

As I've said before, it's all too easy to look the wrong way when driving in a country with the opposite road rules.

I'm sure plenty of Kiwi tourists have been guilty of exactly the same thing.

As for the 'hemp smoking' part - not a particularly rational response from a lawyer.

[unstuck]

Why would anyone want to smoke hemp.
Unless you are into headaches that is.

[HenryDorsetCase]

As for the 'hemp smoking' part - not a particularly rational response from a lawyer.

I am all about the broad brush.

[Woodman]

Tourism industry = Collateral damage.

[R650R]

I think we're all a greater danger to ourselves and each other well before tourists, especially from stats point of view.
There's an opportunity here for someone tech orientated to design a lane navigation type device that detects when driving on wrong side of road and emits an alarm and flashed vehicle headlamps etc...
Govt could mandate all campervans to have it fitted.
I think long term the problem will solve itself mostly as traffic congestion increases to the point even in South Island that it will be obvious where you drive.

[AllanB]

Worst thing is the latest import drive had a total amount of driving experience at 'home' of around one month .........

It is interesting in our H&S regulated workplaces that rental companies hiring to tourists do not need to ensure they do some form of compulsory training course first. Yeepers I've had to get site safe qualified to walk onto a domestic home rebuild site.

In 1998, 0.3 per cent of fatal crashes nationally involved drivers with an overseas licence, while in 2012 it was 5 per cent and, last year, it was 6.4 per cent.

Hmmmm better get on the phone to Nic Smith and have him put in place a extremely high ACC levy on tourists who are driving in NZ.

[SMOKEU]

Poorly trained drivers who are in a foreign country with foreign rules, with narrow, badly maintained roads (compared to the main highways in their countries), often driving a significantly bigger vehicle than they've ever driven before. Throw in a bit of jet lag too. What could possibly go wrong?

[slofox]

Whilst I take your point Mr Dorsetcase, it is also true that we hear little about the thousands of kilometres that tourists here travel without mishap.

I have seen plenty of really fucking stupid driving by locals too. And have had a few near misses (and one crash) at such hands.

Having said that, I doubt I would drive at all in a country that used the opposite side of the road. Too used to driving on the left - I'd probably fuck up at least once with who knows what consequences.

[george formby]

Poorly trained drivers who are in a foreign country with foreign rules, with narrow, badly maintained roads (compared to the main highways in their countries), often driving a significantly bigger vehicle than they've ever driven before. Throw in a bit of jet lag too. What could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, I think you nailed it. They have not "suddenly" become poor drivers.
And campervan / car hire business is increasing.

Driving on the other side of the road ain't too hard. Spent plenty of time in Y'erp with no issues at all. Plenty of shit, twisty roads up there as well so again no real excuse in my book but compounds poor driving.
Not thinking & not looking is the problem. As usual.

[skippa1]

Whilst I take your point Mr Dorsetcase, it is also true that we hear little about the thousands of kilometres that tourists here travel without mishap.

I have seen plenty of really fucking stupid driving by locals too. And have had a few near misses (and one crash) at such hands.

Having said that, I doubt I would drive at all in a country that used the opposite side of the road. Too used to driving on the left - I'd probably fuck up at least once with who knows what consequences.

The very reason I took back my rental in the US and caught a train.....

[FJRider]

Not thinking & not looking is the problem. As usual.

The common fault of Kiwi drivers ... they drive through STOP signs too ...

And if there is single figure percentage of overseas drivers involved in accident deaths ... that must mean at least 90% of road deaths are Kiwi's at fault.

And considering the sheer number of rental vehicles on New Zealand roads on most days ... if all overseas drivers are so bad ... there should be more deaths.

Kiwi drivers are doing more harm to other road users than overseas drivers. Finger pointing at the minority problem seems stupid ...

[george formby]

The common fault of Kiwi drivers ... they drive through STOP signs too ...

And if there is single figure percentage of overseas drivers involved in accident deaths ... that must mean at least 90% of road deaths are Kiwi's at fault.

And considering the sheer number of rental vehicles on New Zealand roads on most days ... if all overseas drivers are so bad ... there should be more deaths.

Kiwi drivers are doing more harm to other road users than overseas drivers. Finger pointing at the minority problem seems stupid ...

Yup, consistently.
I live in a tourist destination with all the issues that a lot of tourists on the road brings but don't find them any worse than home grown drivers. A lot may be slow and some are crap drivers but I don't recall seeing tourist vehicles speeding or driving aggressively. I've never had a campervan over take me through a blind corner. Lots of reasons for that, I know, but just sayin.

[FJRider]

With regard to the tourist that went through the stop sign I read in another forum where the guy who had the right of way should have seen him coming and stopped for him. Just imagine the traffic chaos and rear end collisions if people who had the right of way on roads started doing that on the remote change a person does not stop at a stop sign.

I hope you mean remote chance ... and the chance of people going through Stop signs is getting LESS remote on each passing day.

In the case you refer to ... if that driver with "Right of way" had given way ... three people (one a mother and two children) who could still be alive. Did those three deserve that .. ?? The heartache that incident will cause for many generations of those family's ... did they deserve that ... ??? Simply because one driver refused to give way when he was "In the right" ... Did he really have the right to cause that end result ..??

If you refuse to give way at any time ... simply because YOU have "Right of way" ... expect the same fate.

Or at least the same (or similar) result. Good luck with that.

[JimO]

I'm sure plenty of Kiwi tourists have been guilty of exactly the same thing.

did it myself on Maui, pulled out of our condo and drove on the wrong side into a corner, almost had a headon with a car coming the other way, its easy to do