Kiwi Drivers
 

Hello everyone...

I thought this might be an interesting topic...Kiwi drivers....

Firstly if there are any Kiwi's reading this I want to say that I think you are seriously a great bunch of people, so friendly, but when you are behind the wheel you turn into absolute nutters! LOL:D

Has anyone here joined me in the experience? They overtake on blind bends, overtake about 5 cars when something is coming the other way, pull out of junctions in front of you without a care in the world and I have found out today that they go out of their way to try and knock down pedestrians!!!:eek: LOL I have used some pretty nasty language this afternoon at a driver (words that shouldn't come out of a ladies mouth) who nearly killed me for the fun of it and all his mates in the car.

I also find roundabouts baffle them and indicators...what are they;)??!! LOL.

Don't take this to heart, not trying to offend but thought it would add some comedy as I am sure most of you will know what I am talking about.:thumbup:

Stef

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Oh stef, you do make me laugh! :D
I only have a 5 minute drive to work but something happens almost every day. I make allowances, I always leave a big enough gap between me and the next car incase they do something daft and unpredictable, like turning a corner without indicating. I have been involved in one smash since I got my own car last September and that was a french lady, living here, that was looking behind her on the motorway and hadn't realised the traffic had come to a standstill and so she drove into the back of my car.

My hubby taught my daughter how to drive and she is not too bad at the moment, but I threatened to take her keys away when she was giving me a lift and she answered a call on her mobile! I hate that! Hope she wont do it again but I cant be with her all the time.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Outside of Auckland, Kiwi drivers are the best, safest drivers I have ever experienced, i laugh out loud at anyone who complains about driving in NZ, try driving around 3 or 4 in the afternoon in Italy or France just after the restaurants throw out. NZ does have quite a high death rate on the roads, twice that of England, but this due to geography and road design

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

They'll all be back at school in a week or so, the roads will be much quieter then.

(Now you know why people drive big as 4 wheel drives with bull bars on the front)

How do you know they are all Kiwis anyway?

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

yeah I see what you are saying about the French before and after lunch, but at least you expect no manners and craziness when you look at their temperament, never mind the Italians, Spanish, etc
But it is suprising that somewhat introverted, stand-offish Kiwis become raging loons, or hoons when they get behind the wheel.
Fair point about Auckland, but the area where the madness extends is quite large - certainly at lest 35km north.
Having limited experience on South Island and none in Welly I would tend to agree, although the Hoons seem prevalent almost everywhere (just by the skid/tyre marks on roads everywhere in NZ). Also the French can be safer tailgating on their roads as they tend, as you say, to be wider and better maintained, whereas the overtaking and tailgating here is not as safe, especially when it is taken along with flash flooding, sun strike and other hazards associated with our "different" climate.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Some seriously bad driving comes from tourists and has resulted in several high profile, tragic cases...:(

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Fair comment and yes I have seen some pretty bad driving from tourists also!!

Like I say it was a light hearted post, not meant to cause any offence, I love Kiwi's. I would say that at least half of the incidents I have seen have been Kiwi's and that is enough for 5 weeks of being here!

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

We had the same sort of experiences but lo and behold I am now somewhat more laid back......:)

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

You've not offended anyone.

Give it a little while and you'll find yourself driving differently and predicting what they're going to do.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

I'm kinda used to it now. I just expect appalling driving and am not usually disappointed.

Of course I am a perfect driver and never make a mistake!!

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Exactly! Its quite an art.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Yep, kiwi drivers truly suck behind a wheel.:D The joke is, a few years ago they were blaming immigrants and foreigners for bad driving! Can you believe that? Sheesh, talk about the proverbial plank in the eye syndrome.....:lol:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

That's a kiwi favourite that one! :lol:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

ROFL! Oh man, stop, this is too funny.:rofl:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Sure do. hee hee. ;)

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

I'm with you Rob :thumbsup:.

From one perfect driver to another ;)

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Brussels I agree. If I'm honest I haven't found it too bad...apart from the occasional boy racerI We drove miles and miles (ok kilometres) on recent holiday and it was entirely without negative driving incidents and the roads were really quiet.
I have had many more problems in mainland Europe with bad driving and I find the UK courtesy prevails to a large extent around Wellington...letting you in if you indicate etc.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Completely agree!

And if anyone here has ever driven in Chicago, with the US being home of the massive SUV, they'd get numb to seeing at least two accidents a day, one on the way to work and one on the way back. And that's just a 20-mile drive each way, not even going all the way into the city.

:thumbup: Merging is easy here, people actually let you merge! :eek: :thumbup:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Agreed with the indicators, they hardly ever use them, especially when merging on the motorway :curse: Not to mention not checking blindspot when changing lanes!

Everytime I mention the indicator to my kiwi OH, I hear a grumble but I stay strong to my word :rofl:

However I must admit they are better drivers than what I experienced in France :lol:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Really? We had a really good experience in France - on the peage at least - drivers were really good at indicating and moving over after passing.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

They were probably UK drivers Rob! ;)

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

:thumbup: Merging is easy here, people actually let you merge! :eek: :thumbup:[/QUOTE]

I just love the road sign that says
"Merge like a zip"
Can't help it, cracks me up every time:rofl:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Perhaps the phrase would be better put as "drivers in NZ"...
Not in Auckland they don't! :blink: and if you leave a braking distance between yourself and the car in front, someone will pull into that gap.

My personal favorite, and I've seen this twice now, is the person who wants to come onto the motorway when the speed is quite high... they drive onto the onramp and then will slow down, slow down, slow down, come to a complete stop and wait for a gap in the traffic before taking off in first gear into 100kph traffic... :eek: :eek:

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

In ChCh the driving overall seems pretty good and not really anything to complain about - certainly not when compared to London driving!

I suppose the worst thing here are the red light jumpers. As ChCh is set out on a grid (like many US cities) there are about 8 billion crossroads, all light controlled. The number of reds I've seen ignored or jumped are too many to count. We've recently seen 2 nasty accidents caused by light jumpers and so now I always give a green light a few seconds before heading through it - just in case.

Re: Kiwi Drivers
 

Oh gosh! I saw that in Queensland recently! Gave me the willies!! Saw a car literally parked waiting for its spot.

As for indicators....they are those pretty flashing things on the side of the car, right?? Actually story time here. My mother used to drive a really old V8 Chryster Valiant and it didn't have indicators! She used to have to hold her arm out when she wanted to turn corners. I swear she was doing that right into the 90s. My mother is only 53 so she is quite pleased when i tell that story to people as it makes he seem far older than she is :sneaky: