Kiwi Drivers and Boy Racers

Kia Ora!

Fair warning up front: This is going to be a rant. In my opinion, Kiwi drivers generally are impatient, arrogant and rude.

Saturday afternoon Kiwi Consort (KC) and I were driving home from a car trip into the mountains. I was driving and we were cruising down Highway 1 close to home. Through town, the highway does something unique to New Zealand (in my experience). It is 2-lane each way for short intervals but at traffic lights two lanes merge with the outside (left) lane required to move right. I was behind a slower moving, rickety truck carrying a load of wood and one other car. When the street opened into two lanes, I moved to the right to pass these two vehicles, which I did. I was in the right lane which does not change for the two blocks until the next traffic light. The left lane traffic must fall in behind a vehicle in the right lane (me, in this case) when the two lanes converge into one. Except the truck in the left lane didn't even though I was slightly ahead of him. From my peripheral vision, I sensed the truck uncomfortably close and moved to the right eventually forced into the lane for oncoming traffic.  Fortunately, the traffic behind us saw what was happening and hung back allowing me to fall in behind the truck. Believe me, I stayed far behind this dangerous fellow until he pulled over and parked about two blocks further along. This was a very frightening experience. What was he thinking being such a bully? He got a blast of my horn as he rumbled away. I consider him unsafe on the road.


Our Toyota loaner

It is not that we look like tourists. Our car is an older Toyota provided by KC's employer and looks no different than any other car driven by a Kiwi. We have both driven enough in New Zealand and other countries with right side driver controls that driving on the left is no problem for either of us.

We have had episodes that were understandably irritating to other drivers. But really! Slowing for our driveway yesterday on North Street, signal light on, caused the driver behind to let us know with his horn that he was irritated.

There are few 4-lane roads in this country enabling drivers to proceed at varied speeds. Generally roads are not heavily traveled so that passing a slower driver is not difficult. Most highways provide a passing lane every few kilometers. However, Kiwi drivers are not inclined to be patient if they have to wait to pass a slower driver. No, they will blare their horn and expect the slower driver (usually observing the speed limit) to speed up or perhaps just disappear.

This makes me wonder about the general attitude in the entire country about driving. Some towns, most notably Christ Church, have an extreme model in this type of behavior with what is called Boy Racers. In Christ Church an ongoing battle occurs nightly between the police who try to control them and the racers. If the racer is apprehended, his car is confiscated and promptly crushed.

Boy Racers may be much older 'boys' and some are girls. They race on streets at night, roaring at unsafe speed, belching exhaust, pouring bleach on the road to spin out in a flurry of smoke. There were Boy Racers in Greymouth though not near where we were living.

Sometimes at night I hear cars roaring up North Street in front of our flat. Boy Racers or Kiwi citizens? Sometimes it may be hard to tell.

Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler