wooptee

I'm moving over in December from the UK. What will I need to do with my driving licence? Any pitfalls I should know about with driving in NZ?

chappie

There are a few rule differences between the UK and NZ and you'll notice that a lot of the signs and road markings are quite different. Also, you'll find that we drive a lot slower on motorways (62mph rather than 70mph) and we're not as courteous on the road.

Firstly, you should look here New residents and visitors | NZ Transport Agency for information about driving on an overseas licence and converting it to NZ.

Then before you get here you should take a look at the Road Code rules here Free NZ Road Code Quiz | Driving Test - I'm not sure whether you have a car or motorbike, but all the questions you'd take for your learner licence are on that site.

wooptee

Thanks - thats good. Now I just have to figure out whether it's worth bringing the car over or leaving it and starting again.

MrsFychan

One of the major problems I face, daily, is the merging problems. Basically the person who is entitled to go first (my kiwi friends inform me) is the one who is in front, be it only by a head light they will run you off the road or into on coming traffic just to get ahead, some merging sites you are aware of this as they have a sign that states "merge like a zip". Others are not so clear and even if you think the fact that one lane does not need to merge into the other, so surely that lane would have right of way, it doesn't.

nikkijane88

When over last year, we found the driving to be much better than what we have over here, slow vehicles do actually move over and more courteous drivers! OH still agrees now that he is back over

Woodlea

As with everything (weather, housing etc) it depends where you are comparing in the UK to where you are comparing in NZ. When I first got to Canterbury the driving was the same if not more courteous that what I had left in Scotland. Others people ridiculed this as they were comparing where they lived in the UK to their experiences in NZ. Now, since the Earthquakes driving is much worse in Canterbury and I have put this down to people from the north coming down and bringing their impatience with them. It used to be known as Courteous Canterbury!! At work we have a new guy moved up from Invercargill complaining about the Chch driving so it is still courteous down south. Where are you in NZ and where are you comparing with in the UK?

nikkijane88

We were travelling at the time last year throughout NZ, now will be based just outside Palmerston North. Mainly Scotland (Highlands, North East and downwards to Glasgow/Edinburgh), not done a lot of driving in the rest of the UK.

Stormer999

I came from the UK Midlands where traffic was so dense that I would not drive 4 wheels only two so I could filter through the endless jams. Here in Chch I drive 4 wheels quite happily as well as two.
If you are moving to one of the big three cities then I would consider booking an instructor for 1 hour to show the zip merge procedure and pedestrian priorities on some traffic signal left turns, also the different road marking colours.
I find most NZ driving faults are born from ignorance rather than rage...

Tom H

1: The 2-4 second rule in this country is known as the 0.0000002 to 0.0000004 second rule. It's excellent to be as close up as possible to the car in front just to see what radio station is being played. See whether they're a Si and Gary listener, a Matt Heath listener, Mark McCarron listener or a Morning Rumble listener.

2: At a roundabout, you do not give way to the right. When you can go, just go. Do not worry if someone is turning right and you cut them off - the chances are they were indicating to turn right before switching to turn left once they've got passed the roundabout exit before the one they want. It's very confusing an indicator - one of the hardest things to master using. Too complicated

3: When driving, don't even think about going over 100kmh. Even if you are going 60kmh on a 100kmh road, you are going under the speed limit so Mr Police Officer will be thrilled with you. All accident causes are down to the speedometer, forget if you are talking about last nights romp with your mate on the phone, or you are too busy changing the radio station to rid yourself of listening to Lorde - Mr Officer won't mind that. If you're going 2kmh over the limit, then you are the worst driver in New Zealand. Have a look at the drive safely videos, in particular ones about tailgating, mobile phone usage etc. Good luck in finding one!

4: If you see a cyclist - you have permission to run them over. It's their fault that they are lycro wearing scumbags. They don't pay road tax, they have no license, they shouldn't even be on the road with you. You as a car driver have the right of way, turn left and let them hit you, pah - their fault! After all, they run red lights so they deserve everything they get.

5: Don't have over 80mg of alcohol in your blood. If you have between 50mg and 80mg of alcohol, and you drive - you'll get a telling off. Drivers who commit an offence between 251 and 400mcg of breath will receive a $200 fine and 50 demerit points. Yep, that's all because you are seen as a sensible drink driver but you need to realize you can't do that anymore. Just listen to the real complicated situation in your head whilst grabbing a chip

6: On a dual carriage way - there's no rules about overtaking. You can stay in the right hand lane going your 90kmh an hour for as long as you want. Just make the other driver behind you overtake in the left hand lane. No punishment will take place as remember, it's all about that 100kmh - I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be under that magic number police officers love. It's the same with passing lanes - you won't get flashed by Mr Police Officer as they tend to congregate a lot around those areas. Especially on highway 7 between Hamner and Rotherham/Culverden

7: When turning left at a traffic light junction, you can go as soon as the red flashing man appears no matter what the rules say. It's green for you, so you can go. Who cares about the elderly pedestrian, he/she can just stay in the middle of the road as they're going too slow. If you hit someone, it's their fault for being such a slow crosser, not yours

8: Any accident you have, the first thing you need to do is to speak to the other person. If they are of foreign descent - RESULT!!!!!!!!!!!! No matter if it's your fault, because they're a foreign driver, it'll be their fault immediately. Bleedin foreign drivers!

The only bonus you will have about driving in New Zealand is that it'll be highly unlikely you'd spend 6 hours stuck in traffic jam as was common on the M25, especially on Friday afternoons. Auckland can serve a decent traffic jam and you could have a bit of a crawl in Wellington and Christchurch. They're more down to road repairs than anything else, orange cones are so much fun to see!!! You can use your UK license for a year before having to get an NZ one. If you are young looking, it's wise to get one immediately for ID purposes - saves taking the passport everywhere with you

barnsleymat

I don't know anything about you, you might be terrible at driving on the UK road network, you might be totally blind with no arms and no legs and the only way you can manage the car controls is by clenching your buttocks around the steering wheel whilst changing gear with your belly button blindly guessing which way the roads wind. Even if all these things are correct, when you land here you'll still be in the top few percent of drivers in NZ.

Within a couple of weeks you'll have picked up the nickname The Stig.

Mark Smith

Think I've just sxxt myself

Stormer999

And the next really helpful reply will be.................

MrsFychan

she'll be right



I thank you

Snap Shot

I've just laughed whilst reading out BarnsleyMatt's post to my husband. I'm aftershock laughing at, 'holding the steering wheel in your buttocks'

j19fmm

I moved to the Far North of NZ from a little market town in sunny (not) Devon, and found little or no difference in the standard of driving. People still forget they can indicate to give you a clue on their direction change and they still double park on the High Street.
BUT..my drive to work is wonderful! A 15-20 minute drive with breath taking scenery, and only occasionally another vehicle in front of me...ok and sometimes it's a log truck, but even they smell nice with the logs on!
On the whole it's pretty much the same for me!