Opinion: Family's fight for law change

Judy Richards (foreground) is presenting a petition to Parliament after her son, Rhys Middleton, was killed by a foreign driver. PHOTO/NZME

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the tragic death of Rhys Middleton, who was killed when a tourist veered into his path on a highway.

The motorcyclist's death raised serious questions about our current laws in regard to foreign drivers.

The family also felt let down by the justice system when the woman who was convicted of causing the death, Chinese national Jieling Xiao, was deported without having to complete her sentence of home detention.

In the wake of the tragedy, Mr Middleton's family launched a campaign calling for foreign drivers spending at least three months in New Zealand to sit a driver's test before they are allowed to drive.

On February 14, Mr Middleton's mother, Judy Richards, will present a petition to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters on Parliament's steps.

The petition already has attracted more than 5300 signatures.

The proposed change would represent a massive change to current rules and is likely to spark concerns about the possible impact it could have on the tourism industry, which is a major driver of our economy.

However, this consideration needs to be balanced against the need to keep New Zealand's roads safe.

I think a driving test to assess a driver's ability is a good idea.

Further to this, I also think visitors who want to drive in New Zealand should also have to undertake a compulsory driving lesson.

It would allow them time to become familiar with our roads and our road code.

Although overseas drivers are involved in a small percentage of crashes, such a compulsory system would, in my view, help to make our roads safer.