A Rant....
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 232
A Rant....
...know it has been talked about a zillion times before on this forum, especially by me, but just been out in the car (Saturday morning) and I have to say I will NEVER get used to the crap driving in this city (Auckland)....it is shocking. I cannot stand it. I think it is completely unacceptable for a 'western' country to allow these standards. If the Auckland region gets away without a road fatality at the weekends it is a miracle. There does seem to be some sort of road death every weekend.
Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!! It is pathetic.
Rant over.
Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!! It is pathetic.
Rant over.
#2
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 0
Re: A Rant....
Breathe in for 10, breathe out for 10 & again...... & again. Let the frustration & anger go. Smile to yourself & know that you have superior driving skills to the idiots you have come across today.
Get yourself a coffee & relax .
Get yourself a coffee & relax .
#3
Re: A Rant....
...know it has been talked about a zillion times before on this forum, especially by me, but just been out in the car (Saturday morning) and I have to say I will NEVER get used to the crap driving in this city (Auckland)....it is shocking. I cannot stand it. I think it is completely unacceptable for a 'western' country to allow these standards. If the Auckland region gets away without a road fatality at the weekends it is a miracle. There does seem to be some sort of road death every weekend.
Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!! It is pathetic.
Rant over.
Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!! It is pathetic.
Rant over.
#4
Re: A Rant....
...know it has been talked about a zillion times before on this forum, especially by me, but just been out in the car (Saturday morning) and I have to say I will NEVER get used to the crap driving in this city (Auckland)....it is shocking. I cannot stand it. I think it is completely unacceptable for a 'western' country to allow these standards. If the Auckland region gets away without a road fatality at the weekends it is a miracle. There does seem to be some sort of road death every weekend.
Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!! It is pathetic.
Rant over.
Aaaaarghhhhhhh!!! It is pathetic.
Rant over.
we just got back from nz last weekend, Left hand turning rule, possibly the stupidest driving rule ever, when we drove though a town,, i'd ask my girlfriend 'who's got right of way' answer 'I don't know nor do most kiwi's'
I can only compare it to bumper cars, in real cars
j.j.
#5
Re: A Rant....
I HATED the driving when I first arrived in NZ. My Kiwi husband would warn me, don't indicate too far in advance, they'll block your move, or he'd be telling me, PUSH IN, PUSH IN when I wanted to change lanes. Then of course at roundabouts I'd rely on the other cars going in which the lane dictated they should be heading. No, my husband warned, don't trust them! I now love driving in NZ, Auckland is fun, Welly is a bit more calmer and SI is just a pleasure because people wave when you pass them on a deserted road, or pull over when they're going slowly. I love second guessing the drivers and seeing it as rather a challenge. When I'd finished driving in Auckland, I'll admit that I do have a really bad headache and my whole body is tense, but there is the thrill of the concentration. I'm quite aggressive anyway on the road and I get sooooo annoyed with people cruising in the fast lane, I'm a bit of an M25 tosser, I flash them and make this BIG deal of undertaking them, but to me its become rather a characteristic of life in NZ. Something to laugh over and share 'horror stories' with.
#6
Re: A Rant....
I find the standard quite good in Wellington actually in that people are willing to let you in if you indicate etc etc.....merging like a zip works well etc etc the only bad driving I have seen is the odd wheel-spinning boy-racer. But then Wellington's such a civilised place
Compared to my last EU country the driving here is much more polite and less aggressive....compared to the UK, I'd say it's about the same with courtesy in evidence most of the time. Mind you there isn't really anywhere to drive to here so I'm only talking about around the town driving..the road death figures are truly shameful...so that's the other side of the coin.
Compared to my last EU country the driving here is much more polite and less aggressive....compared to the UK, I'd say it's about the same with courtesy in evidence most of the time. Mind you there isn't really anywhere to drive to here so I'm only talking about around the town driving..the road death figures are truly shameful...so that's the other side of the coin.
#7
Re: A Rant....
Come to Perth - WA has the worst drivers in Australia. They make NZ drivers look like the epitome of manners and safety.
#8
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 232
Re: A Rant....
Oh God. I am going to Perth soon. Really wont be good for my blood pressure then. Really it is something that grates on me. As you may have noticed!:curse:
#9
lionheart
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: papamoa
Posts: 571
Re: A Rant....
The truly awful thing about the bad driving in NZ is that it's accepted as normal. I repeatedly tell myself that next time some twat with a death wish pulls out in front of me from a drive or side street causing me to break sharply I am going to hit my horn and leave it their until I'm back at the legal speed limit.
Yes the UK has bad drivers but it's not considered the norm.
Their is a difference between polite and bad driving - unpolite drivers don't let you out into the traffic etc, bad drivers cause you to break suddenly to avoid an accident.
MY PET HATE - the twat who drives under the speed limit until you reach a passing area, then they speed up, this is dangerous.:curse::curse::curse:
The kiwi's (i know i'm generalizing and shouldn't do this) appear to hate following another car - I drive to the speed limit wether it be 50 or 100 unless weather dictates otherwise. Driving to Auckland some twat pulled out of a side street on a 100k road causing me to break and then proceeded to travel at 70k UNTIL we reached a passing lane, then they sped up to 100K
this is not an isolated incident it has happened to me on numerous occasions,
Yes the UK has bad drivers but it's not considered the norm.
Their is a difference between polite and bad driving - unpolite drivers don't let you out into the traffic etc, bad drivers cause you to break suddenly to avoid an accident.
MY PET HATE - the twat who drives under the speed limit until you reach a passing area, then they speed up, this is dangerous.:curse::curse::curse:
The kiwi's (i know i'm generalizing and shouldn't do this) appear to hate following another car - I drive to the speed limit wether it be 50 or 100 unless weather dictates otherwise. Driving to Auckland some twat pulled out of a side street on a 100k road causing me to break and then proceeded to travel at 70k UNTIL we reached a passing lane, then they sped up to 100K
this is not an isolated incident it has happened to me on numerous occasions,
#10
lionheart
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: papamoa
Posts: 571
Re: A Rant....
SORRY, just realised I swore a couple of times, don't generally use abusive or foul language, but I'm driven too it
#11
Re: A Rant....
The kiwi's (i know i'm generalizing and shouldn't do this) appear to hate following another car - I drive to the speed limit wether it be 50 or 100 unless weather dictates otherwise. Driving to Auckland some twat pulled out of a side street on a 100k road causing me to break and then proceeded to travel at 70k UNTIL we reached a passing lane, then they sped up to 100K
this is not an isolated incident it has happened to me on numerous occasions,
this is not an isolated incident it has happened to me on numerous occasions,
We have to speak as we find though and even on our holiday tour of North Island we only saw maybe 2 bad driving incidents (one in Auckland!) over 3 weeks of touring.
#12
lionheart
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: papamoa
Posts: 571
Re: A Rant....
Sooooo sorrry but this site has hit a nerve. I have always believed that if you can't say something good say nothing, but driving is the exception.
The driving test is wrong, the problem isn't that kiwi's can't drive cars it's that they don't understand how to use roads.
More emphasis is placed on driving a car rather than driver awareness - hazard perception and avoidance means leaving your car in the garage.
The written and theory tests are a joke, 1 hazard perception question!!!! only 4 examples in question book. Bring the written and theory test in line with UK, get rid of the ridiculous length of time under 25's need to take lessons for.
The person who designed the road signs obviously had the idiot's idiot in mind, the road signs are exceptionally good, you always know where you are where you are headed and how to get there. Road markings are clear and generally well maintained.
The driving test is wrong, the problem isn't that kiwi's can't drive cars it's that they don't understand how to use roads.
More emphasis is placed on driving a car rather than driver awareness - hazard perception and avoidance means leaving your car in the garage.
The written and theory tests are a joke, 1 hazard perception question!!!! only 4 examples in question book. Bring the written and theory test in line with UK, get rid of the ridiculous length of time under 25's need to take lessons for.
The person who designed the road signs obviously had the idiot's idiot in mind, the road signs are exceptionally good, you always know where you are where you are headed and how to get there. Road markings are clear and generally well maintained.
#13
Re: A Rant....
True but that's mostly because there are usually only one, two at the most roads out of any place so it's hard to go wrong anyway even without a map or satnav....Auckland is the one exception to this .
#14
Re: A Rant....
hi,
Although I found driving in towns and cities a nightmare( if i'd of had my transit van from work I'd of been fine). In south island some of the most awesome roads, i wish I'd been on a motorcycle or at least driving a car that was built from windy drivers roads.
We had a little automatic nissan wingroad(what ever that was) gut less to say the least, but actually enjoyed driving, no countless miles of motorways, and see a car once every 3or 4 minutes, what a dream. BUT..........
In Hamilton, crossing the road, death wish or what, the roads are about 2 miles wide(slight exzaderation) the little man stops being green and flashes red after 5 seconds( I was counting) and your only half way accross, you can see the driver begging to go so they can run you down. Amazing, who ever designed their roads needs a damn good thashing with a wet fish.
j.j.
Although I found driving in towns and cities a nightmare( if i'd of had my transit van from work I'd of been fine). In south island some of the most awesome roads, i wish I'd been on a motorcycle or at least driving a car that was built from windy drivers roads.
We had a little automatic nissan wingroad(what ever that was) gut less to say the least, but actually enjoyed driving, no countless miles of motorways, and see a car once every 3or 4 minutes, what a dream. BUT..........
In Hamilton, crossing the road, death wish or what, the roads are about 2 miles wide(slight exzaderation) the little man stops being green and flashes red after 5 seconds( I was counting) and your only half way accross, you can see the driver begging to go so they can run you down. Amazing, who ever designed their roads needs a damn good thashing with a wet fish.
j.j.
#15
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 232
Re: A Rant....
Sooooo sorrry but this site has hit a nerve. I have always believed that if you can't say something good say nothing, but driving is the exception.
The driving test is wrong, the problem isn't that kiwi's can't drive cars it's that they don't understand how to use roads.
More emphasis is placed on driving a car rather than driver awareness - hazard perception and avoidance means leaving your car in the garage.
The written and theory tests are a joke, 1 hazard perception question!!!! only 4 examples in question book. Bring the written and theory test in line with UK, get rid of the ridiculous length of time under 25's need to take lessons for.
The person who designed the road signs obviously had the idiot's idiot in mind, the road signs are exceptionally good, you always know where you are where you are headed and how to get there. Road markings are clear and generally well maintained.
The driving test is wrong, the problem isn't that kiwi's can't drive cars it's that they don't understand how to use roads.
More emphasis is placed on driving a car rather than driver awareness - hazard perception and avoidance means leaving your car in the garage.
The written and theory tests are a joke, 1 hazard perception question!!!! only 4 examples in question book. Bring the written and theory test in line with UK, get rid of the ridiculous length of time under 25's need to take lessons for.
The person who designed the road signs obviously had the idiot's idiot in mind, the road signs are exceptionally good, you always know where you are where you are headed and how to get there. Road markings are clear and generally well maintained.
So so agree with you