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Q: Did the recent spate of accidents and deaths in New Zealand (by Chinese drivers)

...hit the headlines here?

 

 

I've been down south for a couple of months during CNY, and there's a lot of calls for Chinese (in particular) drivers to be re-tested before being allowed to drive on NZ roads.

 

Over the couple of weeks of CNY, Chinese drivers were involved in serious accidents, some leading to fatalities, as well as others driving so recklessly (constantly crossing into the wrong lane, overtaking on blind turns, etc) that members of the public have taken away their car keys (obviously, after they've stopped), the police have issued fines, and car rental companies have cancelled contracts.

 

One older (30's?) Beijing man (driving with his family) even said that he didn't realise he had to stop for a police car with the lights flashing (and, probably, sirens going too)!!!!! Said BJ driver had his keys taken by the police, rental contract cancelled, but was able to charter a private plane to fly he and his family to Queenstown...

 

 

So - did any of this hit the local media? Does anyone care? Is it a huge loss of face for China??

 

(oh, and the Chinese Ambassador said some concerned words....)

9 years 2 weeks ago in  Transport & Travel - China

 
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Shifu

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In New Zealand you have to obey the road rules so maybe they dont know how  to drive by New Zealand standards.

In China no one gives a shit.

royceH:

I sure do!  But I'm not Chinese...... Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....!!!

 

9 years 2 weeks ago
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royceH:

dunno

9 years 2 weeks ago
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PSSSSH You are speaking to a man from Vancouver.  You will get no sympathy from me.   Ive been dodging Chinese drivers since before people made racist jokes about them! 

hippy:

most of those chines in vancouver are actually hongers. the same hongers who serve their colonial masters loyally

5 years 32 weeks ago
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my second wife came to america and had 4 tickets the first year and 2 accidents, the lawyer fees to keep all this shit of her record so my insurance would not go up was so bad that i called my insurance company and lied and said we were divorced and put her on a separate policy so it would not ruin my driving record for getting insurance.

i trained my first wife from the philippines to drive a tractor trailer in 1996 and 20 years later, no accidents or tickets ever.

i avoid getting rides from chinese drivers here all the time, walking keeps me from cussing them out and throwing them out of the car going down the road.

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Any links to the stories?  I am surprised this isn't happening all over the world. Simply educating them on the rules will not do.  Because Chinese people are conditioned to not follow traffic rules.  

Shining_brow:

https://www.google.com/search?q=chinese+tourists+new+zealand&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=chinese+tourists+new+zealand+car+accidents

 

http://www.bing.com/search?q=chinese+tourists+new+zealand+car+accidents&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSBR

 

Google or Bing - which works for you?

9 years 2 weeks ago
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Didn't hear about it... Doing a quick search, I find a recent tragic accident in the Otago province.

 

New-Zealand might represent quite a challenge for a mainland driver : much smaller roads, left-side driving, the locals assuming that someone will not change lane randomly with no blinking light used, etc. I think that in general, a Chinese driving license is sadly not a great indicator of driving abilities : the training to get the license is bad, the habits to develop to survive the road in China are terrible.

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I'm amazed developed countries let Chinese drivers use their Chines licences to drive!

A) general driving skills are shit due to poor training & buying of licences. 

B) They don't follow traffic laws in their own country

C) China doesn't let any foreigners drive in China without a Chinese Licence

 

I'm British & grew up driving on the left so found that driving in NZ was easy EXCEPT they have this stupid rule where if you are turning left then you must give way to the oncoming car that is turning right into the same road you want to go down. I was told this when picking up my hire car but still, after 4 days of driving around, still managed to forget it & nearly caused an accident when turning left one day....fortunately I missed the right-turning driver by inches!

 

So now consider how some newly rich Chinese driver is going to get on driving there? Wrong side of the road from them, rules adhered to, small roads. I'm amazed there aren't more reports of them causing accidents driving abroad. 

royceH:

That turning rule you mention also applies in Victoria, but not elsewhere in Australia.

It's also the go (in reverse, of course) in China.

It does seem a little absurd.

9 years 2 weeks ago
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laowaigentleman:

I still think driving in China is more dangerous than back home, but the reasons are different. NZ drivers are excellent, although some of those boyracer dickheads fuck things up for everyone. I don;t know if you know, but you can get a learner's driver license at the age of 15 there and after six months on that move onto a license with some restrictions - namely that you can't take passengers or drive between 10pm and 6am. This is hardly enforced. I was stopped on it, and because I hadn't committed any really serious transgressions, the cop let me off.

 

China is dangerous not because of the windy roads and thin roads, but because there are other Chinese people commandeering vehicles. When there is a hold up in an intersection I just shrug my shoulders and sigh as a horde of peasants block up the opposite of the road and cause a massive jam that takes at least thirty minutes to clear.

9 years 2 weeks ago
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laowaigentleman:

The right of way rule changed there a couple of years ago. I think it was 2010. It's normal now. I never understood how it worked out like that, but I think there were lots of last of the summer wine types who insisted that right goes first because they conflated the concept of right with its other meaning and insisted it made sense.

 

Brits and Kiwis will be able to envision the kinds of old guys I'm describing here.

9 years 2 weeks ago
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Hotwater:

Nice to know that rule has changed. I was there in 2008 & really enjoyed the driving. Beautiful scenery & nice roads (I headed North from Auckland towards Taipa(?) & then down to Bay of Islands)

9 years 2 weeks ago
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hippy:

maybe nz should give the country back to the maoris and let them decide what to do

just a thought

5 years 32 weeks ago
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Shifu

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In New Zealand you have to obey the road rules so maybe they dont know how  to drive by New Zealand standards.

In China no one gives a shit.

royceH:

I sure do!  But I'm not Chinese...... Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....!!!

 

9 years 2 weeks ago
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royceH:

dunno

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As Chinese so love to quote "When in Rome, do as the Romans..."

 

Yet when they leave their countries... they act like they never left home.

 

Arrogant SOBs.

mike695ca:

Hahaha i never thought about that. So true

9 years 2 weeks ago
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laowaigentleman:

When in Rome, squat and eat instant noodles and let your kid with a big hole in the arse of his pants piss and shit on the road in front of the cafe.

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I read about the incident of the citizen taking away the moron's keys.  Saw a clip too.  It was like the person thought they were at home.  Except that all around there was beautiful, clean scenery.  I think it was around the Haast Pass way.

 

I cannot fathom how it is Chinese are allowed to drive ANYWHERE AT ALL!

Their incompetence and arrogance behind the wheel is exactly as bad as it is in the rest of their day to day lives.

 

laowaigentleman:

Was the foreigner Chinese?

 

I read the stories too. It didn't mention the nationality.

 

NZ roads are dangerous. Especially the gorges around the east coast between Napier and Gisborne.

 

Devil's Elbow.

9 years 2 weeks ago
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Shining_brow:

The roads are only 'dangerous' if you drive badly. If you're a cautious driver, they're perfectly ok!

9 years 2 weeks ago
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royceH:

Yes, Chinese.

9 years 2 weeks ago
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I was driving 401 West Bound in Canada - empty road 5am - just after OPP issued law that if a cruiser was spotted on side of road , to pull left to the next lane - I was in the middle lane , saw a white van ahead of me (fyi we are going 120km/hr) - over a hill and Police Cruiser on side of road - buddy (yes asian) jams the brakes on a pulls into my lane - i passed him doing 60 with the brakes on to the floor - idiot did not even see me - he and passenger were rubber necking the cruiser - later found out from Insurance guy i know that  asians (in Ontario at least)  automatically pay higher premiums - highest traffic infractions and accidents for ethnic group.  sad but true

 

And ya I am driving in China hahahaha , getting to do all the things I have never done at home or even thought about !!! 

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There was an accident last year with the ambassador expressing concerns to the NZ government to make the roads safer.

 

That's quite a task. As a Wellingtonian I can tell you that the gorges which surround the only two ways out of the city are windy as hell for the simple reason that the city is surrounded by gorges. Once you're past those, you're not in the clear because before you hit Kapiti you've got to drive along Centennial Highway.

 

A friend of my old man was having an affair. I swear this is true, ok. A chick was blowing him and he lost concentration, swerved off the road and the car plunged 50 metres into the sea just outside Pukerua Bay. Both of them were dead on impact. When their bodies were found his dick was cleanly bitten off and was found inside her mouth. Dad told me this without batting an eyelid, haha. "Remember Uncle Don...? Well..."

 

What a way to go huh?

 

I watch the road very carefully and keep an eye on who's ahead of me out there. The limit there is 80kphs and I think that's too fast for parts of it.

 

It is the allure of Kapiti Island that's the actual killer though. The view is pristine.

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The 5-year-old girl killed in a crash in North Otago on Saturday was Ruby Jay Marris of Oamaru.

Police said her 40-year-old mother, 41-year-old father and two sisters, aged 9 and 7, all remained in stable conditions in Dunedin Hospital after the crash near Moeraki.

A 32-year-old Chinese tourist appeared in court today charged with dangerous driving causing death, and four counts of dangerous driving causing injury, in relation to the crash that killed Ruby.

He is accused of driving the ute that collided head-on with the station wagon the Marris family were travelling in.

The tourist was granted name suppression in the Dunedin District Court today after his lawyer expressed concerns for his safety.

He was bailed to an Auckland address and surrendered his passport and driver's licence.

The lawyer for the Beijing resident applied for interim name suppression and a ban on publication of any photographs of the defendant before his next appearance in the Dunedin District Court.

Michael Kan of Auckland told Justice of the Peace Ashley Broad today that the defendant was aware he was accused of causing the death of a 5-year-old girl and was very concerned about his own safety.

Prosecutor Adrian Cheyne did not oppose bail being granted until the defendant's next appearance on March 13, but he asked for strict bail conditions.

The man is charged with one count of dangerous driving causing death and four counts of dangerous driving causing injury. He entered no plea to any of the charges and was remanded on bail to an Auckland address.

He must surrender his passport and driver's licence, is not allowed to drive and must not try to leave New Zealand.

- Otago Daily Times

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The local family involved in a deadly car crash in New Zealand are among more than 200 Chinese visitors killed or injured on the country's roads since 2009, prompting transport and tourism officials there to set up a road safety campaign targeting foreigners, especially Hongkongers and mainlanders.

Griffin Lee, 18, remained in critical condition in a New Zealand hospital last night, the sole survivor of his family after their car collided head-on with a logging truck near the North Island town of Torokoa on Tuesday. His parents, Standard Chartered executive Warren Lee, 53, and Aesoon Lee, 52, were killed instantly, as was his sister Julia Lee, 20.

Over the past 12 months, 16 Hong Kong residents have been killed or injured on New Zealand roads on three separate occasions. In each case, a Hong Kong driver was at the wheel.

A frontline traffic officer in Hong Kong with more than 20 years' experience said local drivers could be lulled into complacency on the wide open stretches of road found in New Zealand.

"There's a false sense of security because they are used to Hong Kong standards of braking and stopping distances," the officer said.

"You're on an open stretch of road going at 100km per hour and you don't see much around you, just a few other cars, and there can be a lack of anticipation as you still need 200 metres to stop a vehicle going at that speed."

Limited experience of long-distance driving may also contribute to the growing incidence of Hong Kong tourists in car crashes overseas, the officer said.

Tour operators in New Zealand have reported a growing number of Chinese tourists opting for self-drive tours, rather than traditional coach tours.

The Lee family crashed last week on State Highway 1, which runs the length of both New Zealand's North and South islands. It is a popular route for sightseers, through countryside made famous in Hollywood blockbuster trilogies Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

To address road safety issues for overseas drivers, the New Zealand Transport Agency teamed up with Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand in April to create a Chinese-language driver safety video that is shown on the airline's flights from the mainland and Hong Kong.

At the time of the launch, Tourism New Zealand's chief executive Kevin Bowler said: "We know that driving conditions in New Zealand are very different to those experienced in [the mainland] and Hong Kong, and this can come as something of a surprise to some of our visitors."

A spokesman for the New Zealand Transport Agency expressed condolences for the Lee family: "Our hearts go out to everyone affected," he said.

"We are working hard to improve safety for everyone who uses New Zealand's roads, and we are working with the Ministry of Transport, New Zealand Police, local government and the tourism industry to reach visiting drivers" with safety messages.

He said a new visiting drivers project involved developing information about driving conditions, travel times, user-friendly websites and guidelines for hire car operators as well as better signage on key tourist routes.

Last year, 264,864 mainland Chinese tourists visited New Zealand. The number was up 15.7 per cent on 2013, while the number of Hong Kong visitors increased by 12 per cent to 31, 456.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as NZ presses tourist road safety

 

Shining_brow:

"We know that driving conditions in New Zealand are very different to those experienced in [the mainland] and Hong Kong, and this can come as something of a surprise to some of our visitors."

 

I wonder if "[the mainland]" originally had "China" :p

9 years 2 weeks ago
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Attack on tourist as crash fury escalates5:00 AM Saturday Feb 28, 2015

Police have urged motorists not to take matters into their own hands after a run of fatal accidents on NZ roads involving foreign drivers. Photo / NZH Police have urged motorists not to take matters into their own hands after a run of fatal accidents on NZ roads involving foreign drivers. Photo / NZH

A tourist driver has been punched in the face after being pulled over by another motorist, as tension over foreign drivers and crashes escalates.

Police have urged motorists not to take matters into their own hands after a run of fatal accidents on New Zealand roads involving drivers from overseas.

Yesterday, four Chinese tourists plunged 20 metres down a bank into a West Coast river but escaped serious injury, and a Japanese tourist was critically hurt when his rental car and a truck collided near Christchurch.

Yesterday's assault occurred when a motorist signalled for the tourist driver on the West Coast to pull over - then punched him in the face and removed the keys from his car.

Police said the tourist had been driving a white Toyota rental car on Main South Rd in Greymouth when the motorist in a silver sedan signalled for him to stop, then attacked him.

The victim suffered bruising to his eye, and he and his female passenger were left shaken.

Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff, head of road policing, defended the tourist driver's actions, and said yesterday's incident was a "nasty assault" committed for no reason at all.

The tourist had simply moved to the right of the road and then back to the left on the urban street. "It was a really innocuous incident in terms of driving that was not unsafe ... There was nothing in terms of dangerous driving."

Police were looking for the assailant, he said.

It was the third time in recent weeks that motorists have confiscated keys from tourists.

On Monday, Sheri Wright of Haast took the keys of a Chinese tourist driving badly at Franz Josef. She has since defended her actions, saying it was the responsible thing to do.

Last month, a NZ driver confiscated the keys of an Australian near Lindis Pass.

Yesterday, Mr Cliff discouraged people from taking matters into their own hands. "The first option is to try and get us - we don't want people doing this and getting into altercations."

Mr Cliff said police were not complacent about tourist-driver crashes. Education was available to visitors, and rental car firms were putting road safety messages on steering wheels.

The Greymouth incident comes after new figures this week showed the West Coast had the worst record in the country for serious road incidents involving foreign drivers in the past five years - 37 per cent between 2009 and 2013.

Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn said there was a "definite issue" with tourists driving on the wrong side of the road, and he had seen three such incidents in the recent past.

However, he was concerned that "extremist behaviour" from Kiwi drivers was becoming a trend, adding the actions of the man involved in yesterday's incident were "disgraceful" and "inappropriate".

Mayor Kokshoorn said simple and concise driver education was the solution.

Eight people have died in tourist crashes in the past fortnight - and the number of incidents climbed again yesterday.

A Japanese tourist was critically injured near Christchurch. Witnesses said the visitor's rented Suzuki Swift had been turning right onto McLeans Island Rd when it and a truck-and-trailer unit collided shortly after midday.

The truck driver was uninjured.

The crash came shortly after the four Chinese people had a lucky escape when their rental car plunged down a bank and ended up submerged in the Whataroa River.

Police said the 4WD Honda went off a gravel road just before midday.

All the occupants managed to escape before the water covered the car. None were seriously injured.

Tourist drivers have also made numerous appearances in South Island courts this week.

The most recent hearing was for German man Daniel Muller, who pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court yesterday to a charge of careless use of a vehicle causing death.

Witnesses reported he drove through a stop sign on Monday, colliding with a car driven by 54-year-old Leeston Stephanie Ellis. She was cut from the car but later died at the scene.

Muller will reappear in court for sentencing on March 10.

Online tributes continued to pour in yesterday for Ruby Jay Marris, 5, who died in a crash on State Highway 1 near Moeraki last Saturday.

The Marris family, of Oamaru, were travelling north when their car and a vehicle driven by a 32-year-old Chinese man collided.

The tributes to Ruby described her as a "beautiful little angel" and a "fun-loving princess".

The Chinese tourist, whose name is suppressed, was charged with one count of dangerous driving causing death and four counts of dangerous driving causing injury.

He entered no plea to any of the charges and was remanded on bail.

- NZ Herald

 

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9 years 2 weeks ago
 
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Englteachted:

Every country should do this

5 years 32 weeks ago
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philbravery:

Yep...Australia really needs to get it's shit together. Foreign companies own large mining and farm land now....should be a lease not freehold

5 years 32 weeks ago
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Shifu

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Props to NZ for banning these fools and their ill-gotten gains:

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2159849/new-zealand-b...

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A:  "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "S
A: "... through ..."?  Only "through" comes to mind is "Shenzhen agent can connect you with an employer, who's authorized to hire waigouren ... and can sponsor Z visa." It's not like every 10th person you meet in Shenzhen's hood can sponsor work visa ...  The only way to change from student to labourer visa is just a regular way by: 1. Finding an employer, who'll apply for an Invitation letter; 2. Exit China and apply for Z visa in your home country's Chinese embassy; 3. Enter China in 30-days after Z visa was stamped into your travelling instrument ...As I am aware, you won't be able to switch to Working permit by remaining in China....,so make ready for a return to your home .... -- icnif77