Driving in NZ!

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568 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1143011 28-Sep-2014 16:31

raytaylor:
gmball:

Why do NZ drivers feel the need to drive at considerably less than the posted speed limit in the far right lane while the left lanes remain empty?
Our left hand lanes remain vacant, just take a look at night...

Possibly unrelated but personally whenever I go to wellington, at about plimmerton I like to get into the right hand lane and stay in there - then on the motorway stretches I just set the cruise control to 105.
Pain in the a$$ when you go through the george and its a downhill section with a stupid limit of 80

In auckland once I get off the waikato expressway I sit in the right hand lane until i get to spaghettii since my exit is usually for queen street or khybers pass.
Again, cruise control set to 105.

I don't have any issue with this, what peeves me off is when in similar circumstances I also have cruise set at just above 100 only to come upon someone sitting in the right hand lane doing 90 while all left lanes are empty, even encounter this late at night on Auckland motorways, the northern expressway is a very good example.

Cruise control on NZ motorways even at off peak times is barely useable for this very reason.

I would love to see the Police enforce their policy of 'keep left unless passing'. Many NZ drivers currently employ their own policy of 'keep right at all times and force all others to pass on the left'.

dimsim

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#1143015 28-Sep-2014 16:43

jarledb: We are all brilliant drivers. ;)

Before embedding this video, I just want to say that this kind of behavior is just mildly irritating. And I am pretty used to it. Wouldn't have been posting this unless you guys were already discussing driving.

What is not seen in the video is that I am indicating early, and the cars are in a long queue, so not getting anywhere any faster.

I am pretty sure the guy in the Ute thinks I was being fresh, but in my mind (and what I would have done in their situation) is let people in and don't hinder them when you are in a queue, seems to me like the right thing to do.

No wonder, that's Hawkes Bay - where you'll find some of the most inconsiderate drivers in the country. SO many drivers driving under the speed limit the council is attempting to make many open roads 80km/h zones.

Most NZ drivers have no concept of helping traffic flow by considerately allowing you to cross unlike the EU/US, no skin off the Ute drivers nose in your example, the traffic is crawling along.

Jase2985

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#1143021 28-Sep-2014 17:18

I just think a lot of new zealanders are just plain old lazy.

not indicating when changing lanes, not going around the corner into the closest lane, in and out of 2 lanes, sitting in the center/middle lane when there is very few cars in the other lanes.

jarledb

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#1143035 28-Sep-2014 18:05

raytaylor:
The cars there are queued up because there is a speed hump just off to the right of the camera.

...

I must say that is the most traffic i have ever seen on west quay.

There had just been a big drive off of motorcycles. Might post the video from that, think it was all the Harleys of New Zealand driving off. So not a commen problem around here.

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jarledb

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#1143037 28-Sep-2014 18:10

dimsim:
No wonder, that's Hawkes Bay - where you'll find some of the most inconsiderate drivers in the country.

When I first came to New Zealand I thought people were more considerate here than in Norway, but don't think that anymore. Probably from driving in Hawke's Bay so much..

SO many drivers driving under the speed limit the council is attempting to make many open roads 80km/h zones.

Well... to be fair. Its an attempt to get down the death toll of those roads. But man o man how people are up in arms about it here.

Most NZ drivers have no concept of helping traffic flow by considerately allowing you to cross unlike the EU/US, no skin off the Ute drivers nose in your example, the traffic is crawling along.

My pet peeve are people who drive into a roundabout that is standing still and stopping people from entering through that roundabout that would have gotten on their way if you didn't have to move your car those few extra meters just almost touch the bumper of the car in front of you.

mentalinc

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#1143043 28-Sep-2014 18:23

Don't care if your cruise control is set to 100 or 105. If there are people behind you GET OUT OF THE WAY.
It's not your place to determine/dictate how fast other people drive.. if you think this is something you'd like to do I suggest a visit to newcops.co.nz

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#1143100 28-Sep-2014 20:01

mentalinc: Don't care if your cruise control is set to 100 or 105. If there are people behind you GET OUT OF THE WAY.
It's not your place to determine/dictate how fast other people drive.. if you think this is something you'd like to do I suggest a visit to newcops.co.nz

you think you'd convince people to do that? the more like scenario is they back you up, slow down in the bends, and then drive at 120 at passing zones

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Kyanar

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#1143183 28-Sep-2014 22:33

jarledb:
Bung: While the ute driver didn't flash the lights he appears to have allowed enough of a gap. Unfortunately if there had been a collision it would have been jarledb who "failed to give way while turning right".

While that may be true, just ramming someone is not going to be ok either. I would have guessed that the insurance companies would have split the blame if there had been a collision, and failing to stop when you can is probably not OK by the road code in NZ either. (At least it isn't some other places on this earth).

No, the insurance companies wouldn't split the blame. The driver who broke the law would cop the blame, simple as that. And it wouldn't be the ute driver.

The problem is that being a "duck" isn't illegal. It probably should be, but how would they go about enforcing it?

1eStar

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#1143210 28-Sep-2014 23:24

If our law enforcement agency were actually serious about improving safety on NZ roads, they would drive unmarked vehicles and ticket unsafe and aggressive driving tactics as described in the OP. Purely targeting speed only stimulates aggression.

Bung

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#1143227 29-Sep-2014 06:31

Kyanar:
jarledb:
Bung: While the ute driver didn't flash the lights he appears to have allowed enough of a gap. Unfortunately if there had been a collision it would have been jarledb who "failed to give way while turning right".

While that may be true, just ramming someone is not going to be ok either. I would have guessed that the insurance companies would have split the blame if there had been a collision, and failing to stop when you can is probably not OK by the road code in NZ either. (At least it isn't some other places on this earth).

No, the insurance companies wouldn't split the blame. The driver who broke the law would cop the blame, simple as that. And it wouldn't be the ute driver.

The problem is that being a "duck" isn't illegal. It probably should be, but how would they go about enforcing it?

With some you only keep your excess if they know who the other driver is and you didn't contribute to the accident. That condition is hard to satisfy if you were in the car at the time.

Goosey

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#1143228 29-Sep-2014 06:46

Recently I get quite amused when Im turning left and watch the horror look on the face of the person also trying to turn into the same street (turning to their right)….. Its like they dont know the rules changed. Same with turning into multilane roads, I stick to my lane much to the horror of the other person who think it's their right to cut across them and have me wait for them.

fun.

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#1143563 29-Sep-2014 14:19

Having lived/driven in the UAE and the Middle East for many years, NZ has been a driving utopia!

In Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Sharjah/Oman/Qatar etc. etc. the vast majority of drivers are either hopelessly incompetent, astonishingly reckless, stupefyingly aggressive or frequently all three at once.

Other than the aforementioned right lane hogs (solution - overtake on left, problem solved) I can't say I have ever felt particularly inconvenienced, challenged or menaced by other road users here - at least not by my accustomed standards.

One also has the benefit of being able to throw some cathartic V's or "w4nker" gestures in response to vehicular moronicism without being subsequently arrested and fined more than you would have been for actually running someone off the road...

PeterQ

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Master Geek

#1143601 29-Sep-2014 15:47

I think everybody has forgotten the keep left unless passing rule unless it doesn't apply to motorway's , some people think its their god given right to keep right even if they're slow drivers or they are just on the speed limit, this attitude only causes accidents

ckc

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#1143731 29-Sep-2014 18:36

Keep left unless passing applies to motorways. But if you've ever driven in Europe, you'll know it's sensible to not be in the nearside lane when you're coming up to an on-ramp.

The Road Code might say keep left unless passing, but it also doesn't say you can't undertake. So just undertake! I do it all the time. It's the best reminder to people that others are on the road and they need to keep left. You know what's more annoying than someone who sits in the right hand lane? Someone who sits behind them and doesn't undertake when they can.

PhantomNVD

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#1143733 29-Sep-2014 18:38

1st rule of undertaking, don't cause the need for an undertaker? :)

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