Police coach drivers on NZ dangers

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Car Rental News - 12/01/2010

 

Record number of deaths among foreign drivers alarm NZ police

NZ police have recently announced their intentions to work harder to alert motorists to the dangers of driving in New Zealand after several foreigners died in accidents over the summer.

It seems that each year thousands of motorists travel to New Zealand and decide to explore the country using car hire. While this is an excellent way to explore, few people seem to realize that they need to take extra care when driving there.

Reports indicate that a large number of accidents are caused by motorists who try to cover large distances by car in an attempt to fit as many destinations as possible into their holiday. In addition to the dangers of driving when tired, many motorists also try to cover more road by speeding, resulting in a large number of speeding tickets being issued to foreign drivers.

The New Zealand police force have become concerned about the high level of accidents, many of which are fatal, and decided to launch an awareness campaign.

Sergeant Geoff Sutherland is the Southland police highway patrol boss. In a recent interview he commented that: "We don't want them going home in a wooden box, and we certainly don't want them causing any more harm for any of us on the roads as well."

In an effort to reduce the number of accidents, the police are working with rental car companies in order to make sure that all tourists are presented with standard driving guidelines before getting behind the wheel.

However, while the guidelines will be widely available to foreign motorists, there is no way to enforce that they are read and the responsibility must lie with anyone who climbs behind the wheel of a vehicle.

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