Overseas license suspension

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#3199795 25-Feb-2024 11:09

A licence suspension is, well, a suspension. You can't drive anything anywhere at any time.

You'll open up one huge can of worms if you try and drive while suspended, and get caught. It's just not worth the risk at all.

The only way I can think of receiving an immediate licence supension is that you were going more than 40km/h over the posted speed limit.

eracode

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#3199817 25-Feb-2024 12:19

Mehrts:

The only way I can think of receiving an immediate licence supension is that you were going more than 40km/h over the posted speed limit.

In the OP’s situation there can be other reasons a roadside suspension is given:

- caught drink-driving with a breath-alcohol concentration exceeding 650 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath

- caught drink-driving with a blood-alcohol concentration exceeding 130 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood

- failing or refusing to supply a blood sample to be tested for excess blood alcohol

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Rikkitic

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#3199819 25-Feb-2024 12:23

My own 2 cents: Breaking any law around this would be hugely stupid, as well as wrong. If you try to sneak back to Auckland and get stopped for any reason, you are screwed. If some NZ idiot (there are depressingly many on the roads) runs into you, you are still screwed. If the car breaks down, you are screwed. If you forget what side of the road you are supposed to drive on, you are screwed. There is no good hack for this kind of situation. Presumably the agency will want its car back so make it their problem and just pay whatever it costs.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

staysalty

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#3199826 25-Feb-2024 12:49

It’s speeding over 40 is the reason for suspension shin. Thanks to @acruxis who volunteered to drive me rest of my next 6 days trip up to Auckland. He’s thanks to all members for your guide and help. FYI there is no court summon or any appearance they asked to pay the fine and not to drive for next 28 days using my US driving license. You guys are amazing folks lesson learned in had way.

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#3199828 25-Feb-2024 12:59

@staysalty What speed were you doing?

staysalty

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#3199831 25-Feb-2024 13:09

@Linux at 144 kmh. Good to see profile using Linux I’m RHCE back in old days 2000s. Glad to meet you.

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#3199857 25-Feb-2024 14:31

@StaySalty Hope that was 144km/h in a 100 zone 😆

Done my Redhat certs back in 2014ish

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Scott3

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#3199877 25-Feb-2024 16:04

Great that there is happy outcome.

For the benefit of others that stumble across this via a search:

In NZ:

Penalty for getting caught at 40km/h over a regular speed limit (or 50km/h over a temporary one), is a fine and a roadside 28 day license suspension.
Certain drunk driving offenses get the 28 day roadside suspention.
50km/h+ above the speed limit typically results in a careless, dangerous or reckless driving charge.
If ones license is suspended, both NZ and overseas license holders need to apply to get their driving privileges in NZ back: Process for overseas license holders is here: https://www.police.govt.nz/faq/how-do-i-get-my-overseas-driver-licence-back
Penalties for driving while suspended are harsh. Vehicle you are driving will be impounded for 28 days (regardless of who owns it, unless it was stolen). 1st & 2nd time offenses are a fine of up to $4,500 or up to 3 months prison time, for 3+ offenses it up to 2 years in prison or a $6,000 fine. And of course a criminal conviction is likely.
Police does use ANPR (number plate readers), and can flag vehicles for further police attention.
NZ does not require an International Driving Permit, but if the overseas license is not in English, then an accurate translation (of which the International Driving permit) qualifies is also required. Note the term also, an IDP on it's own without the foreign license is meaningless.
Don't let rental car companies push you into doing anything dangerous or illegal. People not being able to return their rental car's is not an unheard of event, and they have systems in place to recover rental car's where the hirer cannot return them. Of course this comes with a cost, but it is worthwhile compared to taking a safety, or legal risk. (note if your rental car gets snowed in at Milford sound, the rental car company is going to keep charging a day rate until they can recover it, so can cost $$$).

NZ saw quite a tourism boom pre-covid, and one of the issues that came to a head was the issues being caused by tourist drivers, particularly in high tourism regions:

Issues with driving on the left (given many of our tourists come from countries that drive on the right). As somebody who has gone through this in the other direction, it is critical that one drives with a high level of concentration when learning to drive on the other side of the road. It is also critical that distractions & fatigue are avoided (as when we are fatigued or overloaded we fall back into old habits).
Issues with driver incompetence in a higher speed / dynamic, highly structured driving environment. (typically drivers from eastern countries, who are used to slower travel speeds, and have never learnt the skills needed to drive in a 100km/h speed limit environment - It's quite a distinct skillset from lower speed driving)
Issues with drivers typically from western countries, that plan itinerates assuming we have an interstate level road network, and are suppressed to find that travel times & driver effort in NZ is a lot higher than in Europe / north America, and then run into issues either speeding to meet their schedules, or from fatigue due to excessive driving time.

We are a signatory on the United Nations Conference on Road and Motor Transport, so we cannot do things like requiring an online drivers test before allowing people from signatory nations to drive in NZ. (and there was no political appetite to treat non-signatory countries that do not recognize NZ license like China any differently to signatory nations). A such NZ made some changes related to enforcement.

In the end, we gave the police powers to forbid dangerous / reckless drivers from driving at the roadside, and the police and various rental combined cut a bit of a deal where the police were able to phone a rental company and recommend they terminate the rental contract. If the rental company aggreges, the police officer can then take the rental car keys from the tourists. Obviously Op's situation did not get the police to trigger this, as they still have the rental car keys.

cshwone

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#3200274 26-Feb-2024 16:34

Is it only me that thinks "Why the hell was he driving at 144kph on what for him was the wrong side of the road in the South Island, gets caught, gets suspended and then looks for a workaround to continue driving?"

Rikkitic

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#3200278 26-Feb-2024 16:41

He was asking for a workaround to return the car. He seems to be straight up about it all and isn't try to shift blame or anything. Of course no-one should be driving anywhere near that fast on the kinds of roads we have, but I wonder how many honestly never have?

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

mkissin

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#3200288 26-Feb-2024 17:08

Clocked at 144, his speedo was probably reading 150. That's pretty fast.

Scott3

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#3200291 26-Feb-2024 17:28

cshwone:

Is it only me that thinks "Why the hell was he driving at 144kph on what for him was the wrong side of the road in the South Island, gets caught, gets suspended and then looks for a workaround to continue driving?"

I got the impression that he was letting the rental car company push him around regarding their insistence the car be returned to the north island. Perhaps due to an issue in communication where Hertz missed the OP was no longer allowed to drive it anywhere.

So that then OP was desperately looking for a solution, not fully understanding the legal risk that they would carry by driving the car to wellington.

frankv

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#3200400 27-Feb-2024 09:20

Scott3:

I got the impression that he was letting the rental car company push him around regarding their insistence the car be returned to the north island. Perhaps due to an issue in communication where Hertz missed the OP was no longer allowed to drive it anywhere.

I don't see it as Hertz pushing him around. He had an agreement with them to return the car to the North Island. He was unable to do what he had agreed, through his own actions. There would be a significant cost for Hertz to move that car to where it needs to be... air fare to South Island, transport to location of car, drive it to Picton, ferry crossing. At least a day's wages plus air fare plus ferry plus petrol, so probably close to the $1000 that's been mentioned earlier.

I can fully understand that it's a nasty shock to add $1000 to your holiday budget and that the OP wants to avoid that. Maybe Hertz can assist by allowing him to add another driver to the rental agreement, or in some other way. But they have no responsibility to fix his problem.

mkissin

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#3200401 27-Feb-2024 09:32

I recently tried to rent a car in Whangarei and drop it back in Auckland. Three rental companies simply would not let me!

johno1234

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#3200415 27-Feb-2024 10:18

The rental car companies will let you have a car free to relocate it against the usual flow. In general they have a problem getting their one way rentals back from places like Queenstown to Christchurch and Auckland.

The OP fronted up and took it on the chin, I'm glad that GZ helped him out without being too judgmental. Some other jurisdictions really don't care about speeding unless it gets faster than 144kph. When I used to commute the M1 between London and Yorkshire in the UK cops only started taking notice at > 90mph (144kph) if the driving conditions were good and not much traffic. Same would apply in many Euro countries and US states. Lesson learned in NZ.

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