Liz Dobson: Tourist car crashes everyone's business

A tourist was responsible for this crash near Rakaia last year, in which a camper van driven by a Dutch tourist failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into a passenger vehicle. Photo / Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust

Fatalities caused by tourist drivers on our roads have again been highlighted this week with the death of a 5-year-old in North Otago.

Ruby Jay Marris died after a car crash involving a foreign driver. The tourist from Beijing has now been charged over the accident.

Five foreign drivers appeared in our courts over the past few days charged with dangerous driving in different parts of the country.

Public opinion has sided with a 30,000-signature petition before Parliament that foreign drivers must pass a test before being allowed on our roads. The Automobile Association, however, has said focus should go on the condition of our roads.

Its motoring affairs spokesman, Mike Noon, told a Parliamentary committee that a driving test would not cut the rate of crashes caused by foreigners.

Noon said 2.9 per cent of drivers involved in fatal crashes and 3.9 per cent of motorists involved in serious crashes in 2013 were driving on an overseas licence.

The AA's policy and research manager, Simon Douglas, said a test for tourists would not make a difference and said transport officials should focus on making roads safer.

Herald reader comments have also focused on the condition of our roads, urging the need for more direction arrows, rental companies putting a copy of our road rules in each vehicle and stiffer fines for tourists.

Confronting and preventing fatalities caused by tourist drivers shouldn't be the focus of just one sector - or the blame of one sector.

Instead an urgent select committee should be formed with input from the major affected parties: the tourism industry, Land Transport, police and car rental companies. This issue must become a priority for everyone.