Justcol

I haven't been in an accident for 30 years

I've caused hundreds but I've never been in one. . .

Bo-Jangles

No i didn't miss your point, I understood exactly. You're inference being that those of us that commented negatively about Kiwi drivers are in all likelihood equally as bad. You haven't yet been on your bike and at the mercy of many Kiwi drivers, have you?

Stormer999

Yes that's the idea..

Stormer999

As a motorcyclist I am at the mercy of every driver no matter what nationality as they are all out to kill me. Hence all of my extra training. My car driving is nowhere nearly as refined and defensive as my riding as I have only been trained to drive at basic levels, so I might even be worse than your 'Kiwi' drivers.....how would I know...

Stormer999

A while back I had a fishing holiday in Ireland....Oh my God! my car was a battered wreck when I managed to get back on the ferry, so I am expecting the same on SI, it must be something to do with traffic density = practice. I know that City and Rural driving/riding are two totally different animals and if not used frequently bocome a problem for many. Driving the little sunken lanes in Devon/Cornwall becomes an art that the locals seem to master whilst holiday visitors struggle.

Personally I'll go with Justcol's 'Nail wrapped in Bullbars'....

Woodlea

Don't expect the same on the SI Stormer, most of the complainants/respondents to this thread appear to be from the NI, I really don't find the driver's down here any worse than they were in the UK

BEVS

and then there is me and husband .

Them NZ'ers is shiters. Really bit shite-ers when behind any sort of wheel & they will kill you without even knowing it. They are unaware , non-insured and don't care. The big thing is that they are unaware of what they do. Heck . They kill themselves all the time on roads, with bugger all else in the way of traffic on that road because they simply can't or won't drive to conditions.
Yis. We've driven all places all over this old world of ours so do know the difference. I've done Devon,Cornwall, Wales, Eire so many times in my life. a commute almost. This lot could wipe that lot out any time. They really take the biscuit.

They drink drive. Oh yeah baby. Pay no heed to the road markings in the road nor the speed signs. Tail gate. Undertake. Back right on in to you. Generally 'they' simply ain't safe and should be confined to buggies, scooters , cycles and skates until they get a handle on the fact they are in metal boxes that can KILL.

scrubbedexpat094

Kiwis see driving as their right & not a privilege.

Droidling

The thing that sticks in my mind about Auckland was the summer months,(probably not applicable this year from the sounds of it)when you had a long dry spell. Then the long awaited thunder storm/downpour. You knew exactly what would happen next .... pile ups and carnage everywhere. It became very predictable and (sort of ) comical.

Woodlea

Sounds like a war zone up there! I spend half my working day driving round Chch and Canty and apart from the odd idiot it is much better than where I lived in the UK (NE Scotland). I'm glad I live here it sounds much better than the rest of New Zealand.

hazeandsteve

We ride plenty here, and the "everyone is out to kill me" attitude works. But then again, so does opening the throttle and escaping the crowd, but that's frowned upon.
I do SH1 every week from Taupo to Manukau, and traffic's generally quite light. Seems to me that it's them there bigwigs in the city that seem to have the worst of it. Coincidentally, that's where the non European immigrants tend to congregate.
I'm not defending kiwi drivers, but out of the cities, the people who change lanes without looking could be blindfolded with a shoelace. As for tailgaters, just slow down til they either back off or overtake.

Back to the wine....

cappuccino

I think the problem stems from the kids being taught to drive by their parents. There are hardly any 'Driving Schools' here to teach them correctly therefore they learn their parents' bad habits and replicate them, and so the cycle continues....

hazeandsteve

Indeed. My mate, and neighbour, has managed to pass the joys of drink driving with an open bourbon and coke to his teenage daughter.
One of Haze's ex workmates had put eight of her young friends in the ground....all road kill! Sadly, the RIP window stickers never mean much when the survivors replicate the actions of the deceased.

simonsi

1st Rule of discussing driving, every individual is better than average...

simonsi

...and fit a towbar - even if you don't plan to tow anything