Rules of the Road in New Zealand
You should always carry a valid driving license with you all times while driving in NZ roads because the police may issue with you a fine if he/she finds that you do not have it. If the license isn't in English, you'll need the approval translation.
In New Zealand, people drive on left like UK and Australia. It is also a must to wear the seat belt. While driving, it is always recommended not to access services like internet or SMS or talk on a mobile phone. This doesn't mean that if you are at stop at any traffic light you can do all these.
You should always make use of the indicator while turning and if you're turning at the traffic lights, then you should give way to the pedestrians who are crossing the road.
You should never turn at any intersection where signal is red. Red means stop.
Give way to your right at the roundabouts and drive in in the clockwise direction when you approach the roundabout signal in a direction you actually wish to turn. Once you're on roundabout, signal left and exit roundabout.
On the roads, give way to all the traffic coming towards you, which is turning left or passing straight. At the T-intersection, give way to the traffic on top of T if you're on bottom of T.
The essential speed limits include:
Alcohol limit for the drivers below 20 years of age is zero. Those who are 20 and more, the limit is 0.05%. Driving under influence of any kind of drug is always illegal.
When driving in the rural areas, you may often find livestock being moved quite frequently along the roads. Always stop your car and wait for the instructions from the peasant.
A lot of railway level crossings don't have barrier arms or lights and only have a stop sign. Always double-check to make sure no trains are coming when you are planning to cross.
The police in NZ are quite vigilant for the tourist drivers in breaking the law after quite a few serious and fatal injury crashes through the last two years. So, you must be more careful while driving if you have rented a car from a New Zealand car hire company for your tourism purpose.
In New Zealand, people drive on left like UK and Australia. It is also a must to wear the seat belt. While driving, it is always recommended not to access services like internet or SMS or talk on a mobile phone. This doesn't mean that if you are at stop at any traffic light you can do all these.
You should always make use of the indicator while turning and if you're turning at the traffic lights, then you should give way to the pedestrians who are crossing the road.
You should never turn at any intersection where signal is red. Red means stop.
Give way to your right at the roundabouts and drive in in the clockwise direction when you approach the roundabout signal in a direction you actually wish to turn. Once you're on roundabout, signal left and exit roundabout.
On the roads, give way to all the traffic coming towards you, which is turning left or passing straight. At the T-intersection, give way to the traffic on top of T if you're on bottom of T.
The essential speed limits include:
- Roadworks in urban areas-30kph
- Urban default-50kph
- Motorway, open road & freeway default-100kph
- Shared pedestrain zones-10kph
- School zones-40kph between specific times
- An accident prone zone or a school bus that picks and drops children-20kph
Alcohol limit for the drivers below 20 years of age is zero. Those who are 20 and more, the limit is 0.05%. Driving under influence of any kind of drug is always illegal.
When driving in the rural areas, you may often find livestock being moved quite frequently along the roads. Always stop your car and wait for the instructions from the peasant.
A lot of railway level crossings don't have barrier arms or lights and only have a stop sign. Always double-check to make sure no trains are coming when you are planning to cross.
The police in NZ are quite vigilant for the tourist drivers in breaking the law after quite a few serious and fatal injury crashes through the last two years. So, you must be more careful while driving if you have rented a car from a New Zealand car hire company for your tourism purpose.
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