Scary road riding.

[2bjr]

#1912

Mmmm… 😉

[phil1]

#6983

European tourists driving on the wrong side of the road 😮

[2bjr]

#6984

European tourists driving on the wrong side of the road 😮

Not if you are also driving on the wrong side of the road. 😀

[Gary Grossman]

#6985

being from Europe i can say without any doubt that they are better drivers over there. I have never driven in a country where every day i can see potential fatal crashes as in this country. What is it with the Kiwi drivers over here where they think they have the right to excessively speed, overtake on blind corners, cut you up to gain one place on the road and do the most stupid idiotic things to endanger everyones life?? do they not think about the consequences??

[honeybear.2399]

#6986

Hi.   My Mate and I are just back from 4 days of riding the roads of the top half of the north island.Really can't say that we came across to much what we would call bad driving, most drivers were happy to even pull over to let us pass, when traffic was slow.  We keep to speed limits, but do like to keep corner speeds up where possible.  (thats where the fun is)  Mind you I have been riding New Zealand roads for over 40 years so maybe I have just got used to New Zealand condition's in that time.  It's strange that people from overseas seen to think that drivers in their home land are  better drivers???????  than drivers in New Zealand.  After all not all drivers in New Zealand, are from New Zealind    😀  Phil

[phil1]

#6987

Take a deep breath Nick. i ended up parking in a drain after a Dutch or german tourist came down the wrong side of the road at me north of Punakaiki. i saw him a coming from  a few hundred metres so had time to wipe off quite a bit of speed. At least he stopped and apologised. So what if he had a superior set of driving skills, i just wish he had executed those skills on the correct side of the road!! So lets get back to the point of the original question – “what scares me the most……..” well that scared me and the thought that it might happen again and that it might be on a blind corner scares me hence my response.

[Dave Ross]

#6988

I've noticed that they've painted arrows on the road after rest areas and anywhere there is a chance of getting confused when rejoining traffic. A former colleague was in a head-on with German tourists and his wife got killed in the accident. Close calls must happen quite often. Changing over to right-hand traffic wouldn't even help, as then you'd get the Poms and Aussies running into you :-). Best just to be careful and expect the unexpected.I also wonder how often you get a boat trailer coming around a corner with two wheels accross the centre line, I've seen it a few times last weekend. Leave the bloody things in the water where they belong.

[2bjr]

#6989

Ye, go Alex.Common excuse is usual " We are from a country where we drive on the other side. 😐Ye, right. The road signs are the same every where. 😐 😐

[Gary Grossman]

#6990

I know that not everyone in Europe is a good driver, however being in the emergency services i have been called out to more crashes and fatals where a local is to blame because of poor driving, inability to think ahead and poor planning (they only see the end of their bonnets!). No wonder it is easy pickings for the Traffic Police to give out fines! oh just think i stirred up another hornets nest! At the end of the day i have driven in a lot of countries throughout the world and if i am honest it scares me most driving here, that why i bought the wife the biggest 4×4 to protect her and the kids!!!! I personally think the driving standards here are poor and things need to change before more people die!

[Dave Ross]

#6991

According to the latest research 4×4 don't do terribly well in the statistics, especially not the older ones. There are also not very PC due to their environmental footprint. Some people do need them though, for whatever reason.  Decent drivier education would go a long way. If the license was harder to get, people would be more concerned about hanging on to it. As 90% drivers have above average skills you'll find it will be very hard to educate them, starting early is the key. I think people should learn how to drive as early as 18 years old. 😀

[Gary Grossman]

#6992

i agree with the above, driver education is the key. I wouldn't bank too much on the research regarding crash tests in 4×4's. Having been to too many crashes to remember in my 12 year career here and in the UK, the 4×4 occupants mostly come out with the least injuries, there have been exceptions where the 4×4 rolls but thats is luckily rare. The crash testing is always done in test conditions with the vehicle being struck from precise angles, unfortunately accidents don't happen like that. So in my opinion the newer 4×4's are safer, just not for the other road users! as for environmental issues have you seen that the worst pollutants are livestock!!! we might be going off the issue a bit here! we need to employ the same driving rules as the UK, compulsory insurance (this would restrict the 15-17 yr olds being able to drive twin turbos), higher age limit to driving i would agree with 18 yrs and a 2 tier licence system. Learner and full, get rid of restricted. I would also have a 2 part test for passing your test, one on the normal roads in normal conditions and then on the back roads and motorway. 👿

[Anonymous]

#6993

i agree with the above, driver education is the key. I wouldn't bank too much on the research regarding crash tests in 4x4's. Having been to too many crashes to remember in my 12 year career here and in the UK, the 4x4 occupants mostly come out with the least injuries, there have been exceptions where the 4x4 rolls but thats is luckily rare. The crash testing is always done in test conditions with the vehicle being struck from precise angles, unfortunately accidents don't happen like that. So in my opinion the newer 4x4's are safer, just not for the other road users! as for environmental issues have you seen that the worst pollutants are livestock!!! we might be going off the issue a bit here! we need to employ the same driving rules as the UK, compulsory insurance (this would restrict the 15-17 yr olds being able to drive twin turbos), higher age limit to driving i would agree with 18 yrs and a 2 tier licence system. Learner and full, get rid of restricted. I would also have a 2 part test for passing your test, one on the normal roads in normal conditions and then on the back roads and motorway. 👿

We have a pom running Land Transport, we don't need any more. Us Kiwis are happy with our driving why should we change and have draconian laws from other countries. What I have noticed is the bad driving from new immigrants and young women drivers who never give way as well put lipstick and text while driving down the motorway.The driving age should stay at 15 why should the age go up for only a few bad drivers. In the South Island last year there was no deaths of young boy racers, but there was a lot of the over 55 age group who drink and drive.Scary road riding: BEING PASSED ON A CORNER BY ANOTHER MOTOR BIKE man I hate that and there is a few on BMW bikes who do.

[Dave Ross]

#6994

Times are changing Dean, a lot of the regulations are from a different era. You are probably right about the South Island, and most of NZ for that matter, but Auckland is different. I also agree with you on the drunk drivers, again probably left overs from the 60s and 70s, younger people seem to be more aware. It is not so much the age as the standard you set, and police for that matter. After the merger of Police and the traffic units NZ roads were left virtually unpoliced, you could speed with impunity and not see a police car. Now this has changed, and most of us would like to see fewer police on the road. Personally, I would like to see them catch red light runners and educate drivers who can't merge to safe themselves. But so what, it's just an opinion so don't lose any sleep over it. We all have our pet hates. I wonder how may drivers I manage to upset during rush hour traffic, when I am moving and they're not. I still haven't upgraded the horn :-).

[Anonymous]

#6995

Dean wrote,”Us Kiwis are happy with our driving why should we change and have draconian laws from other countries.”My answer to that is another old chestnut: if all you other Kiwi drivers/riders are so much better than average, then I must really be piss poor to drag the standard down as low as it is on our roads.The ability of people who should not be in charge of a cake mixer, let alone something as potentially lethal as a motor vehicle, to get out on the roads in this country is astonishing.Don't even think of getting me started on firearms law or domestic violence.Our society has some really BAD behavioural patterns, and our driving is RIGHT up there.-Compulsory insurance, yes.-ACC levy included in the price of fuel, yes: let's see all the unlicensed vehicles avoid the levy then.-Difficult to enforce when there are no 'service' stations left in the big cities, all self serve and prepay: no fuel to go in an unlicensed/uninsured vehicle.Those three moves would take a lot of the rubbish vehicles off the road, and a lot of the rubbish (?)drivers(?) with them.Then we would have to find some cure for the arrogant rich who happily pay their fines and go on ignoring the road code 'cos they can afford it.Then someone could shoot me, and the two other below average drivers in the entire population of the country, and all your problems would go away.If you think we have no problem, then you are part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

#6996

If you think we have no problem, then you are part of the problem.

Life is a bitch! and man I'm enjoying it. I ride my HP like it's my last ride each time, and there is one great thing. No cops on gravel roads 😀If you won't to see bad driving forget Auckland try Christchurch  😕

[Author]

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