Road safety review sparks call for foreign driver ban

Sunday, 4 August 2019

Calls have been made to restrict foreign drivers from New Zealand's roads (file photo).

A councillor in a high crash region of New Zealand has called for a ban on tourists driving for 48 hours after they arrive in the country.

And he's getting backing from those in the motor industry.

The idea was tabled during the South Waikato District Council's August meeting where the Ministry of Transport's proposed new road safety strategy, Road to Zero, was discussed.

One of the main aims of the document, which is currently open for submission, is to reduce road deaths and serious injuries by 40 per cent by 2030. On average over one person is killed every day on New Zealand's roads and seven others are seriously injured.

South Waikato District Councillor Herman van Rooijen is calling for restrictions on foreign drivers to improve road safety (file photo).

* State Highway 1 speed reduction considered following deaths between Taupō and Tokoroa**

But Putaruru Councillor Herman van Rooijen said improving road safety will take restricting foreign drivers, something the document doesn't explicitly cover.

An Israeli tourist died and two were seriously injured in this 2018 crash (file photo).

That's despite the New Zealand Transport Agency's most recent statistics from 2017, showing that overseas drivers were only involved in 23 of 342 fatal crashes.

van Rooijen said there were still too many incidents.

'Ban foreign drivers from driving for the first 24, 36, or 48 hours after they arrive in New Zealand,' he said.

'For people to come into New Zealand, that are used to driving on the other side of the road, to then hop into a car after a long flight just doesn't make sense.

'I go back to Europe at times and I will not drive until I am sure my mindset is right to be driving on the right-hand side of the road.'

Longtime road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is also the editor of car review website Dog And Lemon, agreed with such a ban but said 24 hours would be enough.

Van Rooijen said the restrictions would only need to apply to countries that drive on the opposite side of the road to New Zealand.

Longtime road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is also the editor of car review website Dog And Lemon, agreed but said 24 hours would be enough.

'I totally support that, it is just common sense,' he said.

'It is hypocritical for the Government to be telling people not to drive when they are tired and then allowing people that might have been in the air for 24 hours to then hop straight into a rental car and drive on the opposite side of the road.'

Tourists would have to find alternative ways of getting around when they first arrive in New Zealand if a South Waikato District councillor has their way (file photo).

Matthew-Wilson said the Government needed to take a stronger stance on the issue.

'The Government is terrified of offending China and the tourism industry. As a result they just look the other way and quote national statistics which show it is not a major problem when in fact, in certain areas, it is a daily problem,' he said.

AA spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said while the AA supported the messaging behind the idea, putting it into practice would be difficult.

'You would need to know where people have flown from and how long they have been in the air. All of those types of things would make it really really impractical and hard to enforce,' he said.

Thomsen said the law was not necessarily the best tool to use to improve road safety.

'From our perspective, while we certainly support the message, we think the way we have to go is providing safety information and advice to people when they are travelling, booking on planes and arriving,' he said.

'We also totally expect rental companies and the like to be asking questions and finding out where people are driving to when they come in so they can give some advice.'

NZTA southern regional relationships director Jim Harland said overseas licence holders, including short-term visitors, were generally crashing for the same reasons as New Zealand drivers.

'A range of initiatives are in place to reach visitors at each stage of their holiday - planning, booking, in-flight, arriving in New Zealand, and when they are actually behind the wheel,' he said.

'We're also providing information to help people chose the right vehicle for the nature of their trip and that they are prepared for the differences between driving in New Zealand and driving in their home countries.'