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Government backs "Keep Left" signs to remind tourists of safe driving on New Zealand roads

Xinhua, August 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

The New Zealand government on Friday backed moves to remind overseas visitors to drive on the left side of the road in a bid to cut the number of crashes involving foreign motorists.

Local councils and tourism operators are on the right track installing "Drive on Left" signs at campervan and rental car carparks, intersections and popular tourist spots, Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss said in a statement.

"Record numbers of tourists are travelling to New Zealand 3.3 million in the year to June and many are opting to self-drive," Foss said.

"The 'Drive on Left' signs will help visitors safely negotiate busy driveways and intersections."

The government's Transport Agency was working with other organizations to install even more signs around the country.

"The latest overseas driver crash statistics released by the Ministry of Transport show overseas drivers were at fault in less than 5 percent of fatal and injury crashes on our roads from 2011 to 2015," said Foss.

"The number of overseas drivers involved in crashes has stayed relatively consistent at a time when international visitor numbers have increased by about 30 percent," he said.

"While we still have some way to go, each new initiative builds on the last to create a safer system for all road users."

Ministry of Transport figures showed overseas licence holders 7 percent for drivers from countries that drive on the right and 4 percent for countries that drive on the left were more likely to fail to keep left than New Zealand drivers at 2.6 percent.

A ministry report out earlier this year said the top six countries accounting for 55 percent of the overseas drivers in crashes were Australia, Germany, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The relative importance of the six countries had changed markedly over the last 11 years.

For example, while the number of drivers from the UK had more than halved, the number from China has increased to about six times what it was in 2005. Endit