Two more bikers taken out by wrong-side tourist

**Ixion** · 22nd January 2008, 23:00

A Spanish tourist who drove on the wrong side of the road hitting and injuring two motorcyclists yesterday admitted two charges of careless use causing injury, when he appeared in Greymouth District Court today.

From

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4368551a12855.html

Defence lawyer Bev Connors said De Lenzo had been driving since he was 18 and had never had an accident before.
"He was driving on a rural road and had no easy guide as to what side of the road he should have been on."

He doesn't know which hand is left?

Originally Posted by Judicial idiot

Judge Moran said he was sorry the defendant's holiday in New Zealand had been ruined by this "unfortunate accident".
"It was not a criminal act, but it was a careless one. You have also caused a lot of emotional harm to the people you hit," the judge said.

No mention of sorry for the injured bikers. Who suffered broken bones not just "emotional harm". Who is this wanker Moran, anyway. NZ is dreadfully ill served by its judiciary

**Kittyhawk** · 22nd January 2008, 23:17

He was driving on a rural road and had no easy guide as to what side of the road he should have been on."
FFS! There is no easy guide on rural roads, if he couldnt bloody work out what side to be on, he shouldnt have been allowed to drive!

Its bad enough NZ'ers having accidents on marked roads in the same lane!!!

Is there a system in place with LTSA which makes international drivers sit a practial test before they drive?, or do they just come on over display an international licence and drive on our roads???

Something needs to be done...

**Bikernereid** · 22nd January 2008, 23:27

I can understand the whole which side of the road I should be on can be a problem if you are tired. I have made a similar error when driving in the UK after just getting back from France. I had spent years living abroad and was tired, driving at night and for a split second forgot where I was. I stopped to rest before I hurt someone.

As for which hand is which no excuse for that!!

Lawyer sounds like a prat but should know better. What is it with bikers, I bet if it has been a car driver they would have gotten an apology!

Originally Posted by Ixion

A Spanish tourist who drove on the wrong side of the road hitting and injuring two motorcyclists yesterday admitted two charges of careless use causing injury, when he appeared in Greymouth District Court today.

From

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4368551a12855.html

He doesn't know which hand is left?

No mention of sorry for the injured bikers. Who suffered broken bones not just "emotional harm". Who is this wanker Moran, anyway. NZ is dreadfully ill served by its judiciary

**Bikernereid** · 22nd January 2008, 23:31

Agree completely that tourists should have a proficiency/ aclimatisation test before being allowed on the road. Would be interested to see how many accidents are cause by those of us who drive on the left whilst abroad in countries that drive on the right.

Originally Posted by Kittyhawk

He was driving on a rural road and had no easy guide as to what side of the road he should have been on."
FFS! There is no easy guide on rural roads, if he couldnt bloody work out what side to be on, he shouldnt have been allowed to drive!

Its bad enough NZ'ers having accidents on marked roads in the same lane!!!

Is there a system in place with LTSA which makes international drivers sit a practial test before they drive?, or do they just come on over display an international licence and drive on our roads???

Something needs to be done...

**Big Dog** · 22nd January 2008, 23:59

My heart goes out to the riders and their families.

**Ixion** · 23rd January 2008, 00:00

Uh, just to make it quite clear here, they weren't killed, 'merely' badly injured

**Kittyhawk** · 23rd January 2008, 00:08

Originally Posted by Bikern1mpho

Agree completely that tourists should have a proficiency/ aclimatisation test before being allowed on the road. Would be interested to see how many accidents are cause by those of us who drive on the left whilst abroad in countries that drive on the right.

I agree...if you are always driving on the left, go over to the States naturally it fees wrong to be driving on the "wrong" side of the road...I know I'd have an accident if I wasnt paying attention over there.....I'll gladly put my hand up and say "watch out kitty gone wild on the road"

**Big Dog** · 23rd January 2008, 00:10

Originally Posted by Ixion

Uh, just to make it quite clear here, they weren't killed, 'merely' badly injured

Does not mean that this is painless to them.

I was quite clear in my mind if not my post that they were hurt not dead but I can only imagine that it is not the best day of their lives or their families.

**Bikernereid** · 23rd January 2008, 00:15

Sometimes it is very easy to judge if you yourself have not had the experience of driving in a foreign country with different road rules. I am sure that the Spanish tourist is not feeling particularly brilliant at the moment; it is not the most pleasant of experiences being in an RTA. And I guess it must be an aweful feeling knowing that you have injured others in the process.

Maybe your government are the ones who need lambasting and kicking up the arse to do something about this problem!!!

Originally Posted by Kittyhawk

I agree...if you are always driving on the left, go over to the States naturally it fees wrong to be driving on the "wrong" side of the road...I know I'd have an accident if I wasnt paying attention over there.....I'll gladly put my hand up and say "watch out kitty gone wild on the road"

**Kittyhawk** · 23rd January 2008, 00:22

Originally Posted by Bikern1mpho

Sometimes it is very easy to judge if you yourself have not had the experience of driving in a foreign country with different road rules. I am sure that the Spanish tourist is not feeling particularly brilliant at the moment; it is not the most pleasant of experiences being in an RTA. And I guess it must be an aweful feeling knowing that you have injured others in the process.

Maybe your government are the ones who need lambasting and kicking up the arse to do something about this problem!!!

DONT get me started on the goverment, as far as Im concerned they are living out of their asses, and are blinded by shit.

Something does need to be done...but at the rate things happen in NZ we will be waiting a long long time.

**Ixion** · 23rd January 2008, 00:44

Originally Posted by Big Dog

Does not mean that this is painless to them.

I was quite clear in my mind if not my post that they were hurt not dead but I can only imagine that it is not the best day of their lives or their families.

Quite so. Just didn't want anyone to go off with the wrong idea.

**Big Dog** · 23rd January 2008, 00:50

In fact one of the worst if not the worst day in my life was definitly when I collected a car on the other side of the road when I lost control of mine in the wet on a very dangerous corner (there is a reason 1.4 milliion was spent on taking this pair of bends out). I was limping but not badly hurt (dash rash). Neither were the two old ladies (just shocked) but there is something terrible about knowing you were that close to killing two holiday makers on their way home to their families.
I also have sympathy for the driver. As humans we make mistakes but the tourist is unlikely to be reading this.

**skidMark** · 23rd January 2008, 04:20

just a thought here....

how accurate is a gps unit?

i know the special ones can be used for very precise calculations...

anyways....

what it there was a warning system of some sort in the car.....that when you are on the wrong side or the road...it sound loudly ....wrong side of road...preferably in whatever language they speak.

and that if you come into new zealand for a holiday you are given one...and return it upon leaving.

i don't know some kind of proper warning system to be honest a sticker will not get thier attention.

you would ignore it after a while.

in reality if every car manufactured came out with this

(alot of modern cars have gpx anyways right? well the expensive once but i'm sure it won't be long...)

i dunno some kind of warning system....you lot figure it out...i will sleep on it...which is what i better do now...suns coming up.

SM

edit......just had a brain wave...

obviously if they come from a country in which they drive on the other side of the road. the drivers seat is on the other side. maybe this can work in our favour somehow.

i mean they are driving in a car where they are in the other side to what they are usually....

somebody else think lol my head hurts lol

**awayatc** · 23rd January 2008, 06:31

Originally Posted by Bikern1mpho

Agree completely that tourists should have a proficiency/ aclimatisation test before being allowed on the road. Would be interested to see how many accidents are cause by those of us who drive on the left whilst abroad in countries that drive on the right.

Never would happen to me...always drive in the middle...

Why not go universal?- we all go drive on the right side, starting with the trucks, cars a week later.....

Wikipedia:
Nowadays driving on the left is predominantly a custom in Britain and former British colonies, and in Japan. The historical record shows a more varied picture in the past. Prior to World War I, countries observing the left-hand rule included parts of Canada, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, parts of Austria, Sweden, Iceland, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, parts of Brazil, parts of Chile, parts of Italy, China, the Philippines, and Burma. Italy changed when Benito Mussolini came to power, Austria and Czechoslovakia when Adolf Hitler annexed or occupied them, the Latin American countries by 1945, the Philippines and China in 1946 (leaving Hong Kong and Macau isolated), and Burma/Myanmar in 1970 on the advice of a soothsayer

**Number One** · 23rd January 2008, 06:46

Haven't read the other posts...sorry if this is a repeat BUT...

When o when are they going to make people prove their competence behind the wheel and awareness of our road rules before letting them loose?

I think there should be a compulsory test both practical and oral or written. That way there is 'some' level of comfort that they are at least aware of the rules and are actually competent enough to be driving HERE in the first place!