Responses that promise an immediate and apparently ready-made solution to a problem have a seductive appeal. Far better them than answers that may take years to have an obvious impact. So it is perhaps no surprise that according to a Herald-DigiPoll survey, most New Zealanders want special rules for overseas drivers. More than three-quarters of the 750 people polled want tests for overseas drivers or bans on rental companies hiring cars to people straight off long flights.
The reasons for concern are obvious enough. Hardly a week now goes by without overseas tourists being involved in a serious crash. And far more often than not, they are to blame. Overseas drivers were found to be at fault in 75 per cent of the 538 injury crashes and all the 11 fatal accidents in which they were involved last year. They pose a particular danger in popular tourist destinations, a point underlined as this country enjoys its best summer for overseas visitor arrivals. On the other side of the coin, no serious accident involving a visitor is good publicity for the tourism industry.
A quick fix would be welcome. Unfortunately, it does not exist. Tests for overseas drivers or a ban on hiring cars immediately to those off flights of eight hours or more are not feasible unless New Zealand wants to put itself out on a limb. It has signed a United Nations convention that enables motorists holding a licence from any signatory country to drive in another signatory country for up to 12 months. Breaching that would invite some form of retaliatory penalty when New Zealanders arrive in, say, Europe or the United States.
Clearly, however, steps must be taken to help reduce the number of accidents involving tourists by making it easier for them to adjust to unfamiliar local conditions. Most specifically, they need to be educated on particular risks. These include drifting across centre lines, looking the wrong way when leaving high-traffic visitor sites and succumbing to a natural instinct by reverting to their usual side of the road.
Other countries, such as Australia and Ireland, share this problem, and have developed what they see as the best means of imparting these messages. These include safety messages at rental car outlets, especially a reminder that New Zealanders drive on the left, prominent signs near airports and resorts, and stickers on dashboards to remind drivers of the road rules. Airlines should also be playing a part by screening in-flight driver safety videos. Such things are starting to be developed more effectively as tourism operators somewhat belatedly face up to the extent of the problem.
