A German couple say they were threatened by a man wielding a screwdriver during a road-rage incident in Dunedin yesterday.
A police spokeswoman said a 27-year-old Dunedin man was arrested and charged with disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence.
Tourist Patrick Schutz, 28, said he and his partner Anja Timpe, 23, were subjected to a barrage of abuse after the driver of a car travelling behind their van on Portobello Rd decided they were driving too slowly.
"We were driving maybe a little bit slow and the car behind was following very close.
"Overtaking was very risky but he did it anyway."
Schutz said he crashed into the overtaking vehicle when the driver braked heavily after passing him, but the overtaking vehicle continued on after the crash.
"We followed him to get his details and then he suddenly stopped and tried to break into the window."
The couple locked all the van's doors after the man, went "crazy" and allegedly threw rocks at their vehicle.
The man appeared to "calm down" and spoke on his phone, but Schutz said a couple of minutes later he ran at their vehicle with what appeared to be a screwdriver.
He allegedly attempted to slash the vehicle's tyres as the couple escaped to the next bay.
"We were scared.
"When we called the police we thought maybe he would hit us with his car," Shutz said.
A police spokeswoman said a man would appear in the Dunedin District Court tomorrow.
No weapon was recovered.
The couple planned to continue driving for the final week of their six-week trip in New Zealand.