New Zealand launches online simulation for international drivers

New Zealand Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss Wednesday welcomed an Automobile Association (AA) initiative of an online training program to help visiting drivers keep themselves and others safe.

The AA launched its online driving simulator Visiting Drivers Training Program at New Zealand Parliament Wednesday.

The free online program is now available on the AA website and will be promoted overseas. Users are also given the option of paying 10 NZ dollars for a certificate that entitles them to discounted rates at certain rental vehicle firms.

Foss said that the program puts visitors in the driver's seat of a car and asks them questions about New Zealand road rules and conditions. "It will help inform visiting drivers, improve safety and save lives."

On the site, users will be able to go through 15 different driving scenarios that have been filmed on roads around major tourist cities such as Queenstown and Auckland airport. Each scenario will require user to answer a question about how to drive safely in New Zealand.

The program builds on a number of recently announced initiatives promoting safe driving messages to international visitors at all stages of their holiday, Foss said.

The AA joined a government-led plan called the Safer Journeys Visiting Drivers Signature Project (VDSP). It includes central government, local government and the private sectors.

While international visitor numbers had increased rapidly in recent years, the number of crashes involving overseas licence holders became a major problem in New Zealand. Endit