By AINSLEY THOMSON
Police are worried about a jump in the number of Asian drivers involved in fatal car accidents in the Waikato.
Last year, Asian drivers were involved in 10 per cent of fatal road accidents in the area, compared with a constant 3 per cent for the previous five years.
The
Waikato road policing manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said the rise was worrying and Asian drivers were over-represented in the statistics.
In the 2001 census about 4 per cent of people living in the Waikato identified themselves as Asian.
Mr Tooman said seven people had been killed in the accidents involving Asian drivers.
Although not a huge number, it was significant because the trend for other ethnic groups, including European and Maori, was down.
The president of the Waikato Chinese Students and Scholars Association, Larry Guo, said his organisation was aware of the dangers of Asian students driving while unfamiliar with New Zealand road rules and conditions.
In the past two years the association had run workshops and seminars to improve students' knowledge of road rules, and it was hoping to get money to extend these courses.
Mr Guo said most of the accidents happened when the students were in their first year in New Zealand and were still driving on their Chinese licence.
Another contributing factor to the accidents was the type of car being driven.
Mr Tooman said Asian drivers involved in the accidents said they wanted to drive sports cars because they were 10 times cheaper in New Zealand than at home.
"The speed that some of these vehicles are capable of is a major contributing factor."
The Land Transport Safety Authority's regional manager for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Glenn Bunting, said the rise last year could be a statistical glitch.
"But anybody who gets killed out on the road, whether they are Asian or not, is a matter of concern."
