madao

Some of you may remember I had a car written off last year a few months after buying after some idiot reversed in to it in a car park.

Yet again i've had my car damaged in a car park but this time no idea who the culprit is as they decided to scarper.

Even more annoying is the $150 its just cost me for the shyster garage to fix the front bumper back in to place. $90 for labor, $35 for "materials and tools" and, really taking the piss, $3 for 3x washers + GST on the lot.



Rant over

Mark Smith

Oh bugger.
Try parking as far away at the back of the car park. Always much quieter and less Mr Magoo's.

Tom1983

Oh my favourite discussion of topic

It must have been a tourist, definitely not a kiwi driver - they'd never do something like that

There was a report in the press about a judge complaining of foreign tourists not driving properly. I see they didn't mention about Kiwi driving standards - then again, 50 sheets of paper would be required if that was the case

Actually

It would be your fault for leaving the car in a place where it can get damaged. Kiwi drivers can never do wrong, it's always the foreigners fault! Even if they can't read road signs properly, they're right - jolly foreigner wrong!

madao

I'm not sure whats annoyed me more, the driver or the garage.

Hokey-pokey

Agree driving standards are very poor but they are noticeably worse in touristy areas. Have you ever driven around the Queenstown/ Te Anau area? Honestly we were driving in fear the whole time we were down there over Xmas. The camper vans/ rental vehicles drifting across the centre lanes, cars cruising at 60km an hour in 100km zones - the drivers all busy rubber necking - leaning out of windows filming/taking photos, instead of pulling over to do so. We had to take evasive action more than once. Am not defending kiwi drivers by the way. My kids will go on defensive driving courses when they're ready to learn to drive, these should be compulsory IMO.
http://www.aa.co.nz/drivers/driving-...riving-courses

BEVS

Our vehicle has been pranged 3 times in car parks over the past ten years . The first time was just a couple of days after we bought the car. 2 were hit and run. One prang, we were actually sitting in the car when it was reversed into with a mighty ke-thump. The driver tried to wriggle out and did not have insurance.

Get this. Today I came down the R60 which ends with a roundabout. I need to take a left turn out onto the R6. As I approached I became aware of a car actually stopped on the roundabout just to the right of my approach. It hadn't broken down. The driver had decided to stop & was waving forward cars out of their respective turnings before finishing it's trundle off the roundabout.

No idea what nationality 3 of the drivers were. Today's roundabout moment was a banged up ute type affair. The non-insurance reverse job was a Kiwi

I've also been on the receiving end of an oncoming car necking it at me , completely on the wrong side of the road, having overtaken the car in front of it on a bend. Obviously cannot state this as absolute fact, but that vehicle looked very much local to me.

Accidents happen of course. I know. I've been in a bad RTA smash in the UK when I was young. Two lorries playing tag on an empty motorway. Result - not good for the Austin 1100 and the pair inside.

I have to say though, that I am consistently alarmed at the driving standards here. I no longer get in cars with some of my pals as drivers because I value what's left of my life. Why has it always got to be max speed at all times. Pull out in front. Tail gate . Overtake at peril.

Just wish something could be done to help raise awareness to make the roads a safer place for all.

BEVS

Just seen this.

Good on you. Will help keep them safe.

Purrball

Haven't owned or driven a car for about 20 years, but coming the other way from New Zealand to the UK in the late 80s, I found UK drivers incredibly disciplined and courteous. They stopped to let people in and even more remarkably, stopped for pedestrian crossings. And the few lessons I took here in London for a short while to get up to speed here (for work) were far stricter about the fundamentals: mirrors, handbrake use, hill starts, parallel parking and hands on the steering wheel.

In the 70s and 80s in New Zealand, most people my age informally learned driving from parents or older siblings, in the backstreets of suburbs or in supermarket car parks. It seemed quite rare for people to have formal lessons, getting your licence wasn't particularly difficult, especially more so for motorbikes which I also rode for a while. Wondering whether things haven't changed that much.

barnsleymat

What is it with Kiwi's and roundabouts, they seem totally unaware of what to do. They don't seem to know how to indicate correctly, they don't give way properly, no idea which is the correct lane. Totally baffles me why something so simple causes so much confusion. There's no big complicated roundabout with traffic lights, bus lanes or pedestrian crossings like other countries, roundabouts are usually 4 exits/entry ones.

Lets not get started on tailgaters.

Hokey-pokey

So true! I learnt to drive on a rugby field! The players survived.

BEVS

HeHe.

My Dad took me out to Holmsley old wartime airfield in the New Forest (use google) when I was in my young teens to teach me to drive. It was an old Vanguard, reg. TLB17 which he had hand-painted grey & I spent 2 days in the rain with him whilst he fixed the horn and the indicators.
Had to stick blocks on the peddles to reach & use cushions to see out.

I loved it ! I really did. Thinking back to that, I still love that we did that. Would love to have one moment to do it all again with him.

Of course, that was for the doing of , not for the licence.

I had the usual 20+ lessons later when I was older and then the scary test + highway code.

Years after I took defensive driving and also the advanced driving course.

scrubbedexpat094

Don't get me started on this topic OH is needing treatment on his left eye since that numpty hit us in January.

alan83

I'm due to be arriving in May and I've been looking on TradeMe for a possible car but on reading this I'm thinking I may be better on my own 2 feet lol

Tom1983

We don't need indicators, as long as we have a steering wheel and our car can go forward and backwards - that's all we need

Mirrors are a complete waste of time. We can go whenever we want to

Oh and tailgaters are just curious to see what radio station you've got on. They'll happily tailgate if its a radio station that they like - just so they can hear your record being played. What's that, someones got Lorde on or Gerry McCormack is doing the thinking - I must listen

Plus we're perfect drivers. It's not your fault you come from a country that cannot drive. Now lets get back to showing you how to park New Zealand style - see the lines of space, park diagonally blocking the other 2 spaces from being used. There you go, you have passed the how to park like a kiwi test

MrsFychan

Queenstown and the way out up to Franz Josef I have never seen such awful driving. On the way up to Franz Josef we were nearly taken out by an Asian driver who just didn't bother looking to see if there was anyone on the main road before pulling out, the fact that his door was also ajar just made me more mad.

Queenstown a driver pulled across ongoing traffic which was chancing his arm with just the car but he had a blinkin trailer attached that nearly took another car out.

Ridiculous