In a few weeks I will be visiting New Zealand, and my wife and I plan to rent a car for part of the time we’re there. I’ve been reading a little about NZ driving rules, and trying to mentally prepare myself for driving on the left-hand side of the road and the right-hand side of the car.
In my reading, I have come across a driving rule that perplexes me. I have read in more than one source that when proceeding straight through an intersection, a driver should yield to vehicles approaching from the right. This implies that there are open, uncontrolled intersections-- two roads intersecting with no signage in either direction. As a driver proceeding down a road with no yield or stop signs and no traffic lights, I would therefore be required to look down every cross street for approaching cars, because there is no way to know if any given intersection is controlled or uncontrolled. In a situation where a building, a clump of trees, or a curve obscures the view, I would think that one would have to come almost to a complete stop before proceeding. Not knowing the speed limit on the cross street further complicates this assessment. In my experience driving in 50 U.S. states and in Canada, if I come to an intersection and there is no sign or light facing me, that indicates that there is a stop sign for the cross traffic, and I may proceed. The NZ rules indicate that if there is no sign facing me, there may or may not be a sign for the cross traffic. It seems odd to me that in order to know whether or not to yield, you have to take your eyes off the road and slow down. I envision driving down a main thoroughfare in a city and hesitating for every minor alley to look for vehicles on the right, or driving down a highway in a rural area and slowing down to inspect every dirt road that intersects the main route. Is it normal to encounter every cross street not knowing whether or not you’re supposed to yield until you are close enough to look down the road to your right?
An example of what I’m talking about can be seen here. Am I interpreting these rules correctly? Am I using too broad a definition of the word “intersection?” How common are these uncontrolled intersections in New Zealand, and is it common to hesitate at intersections that have poor sightlines? Is there a simple way of knowing if an intersection is “uncontrolled” vs. “controlled in only one direction”?
Many thanks to any Kiwis, tourists, etc. on the board who may be able to set me straight on this rule. I will try my best not to crash into you next month.
It’s about five years since I’ve driven in New Zealand malden, and most of my driving took place in Wellington. But I did also drive in Auckland, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill at various times, as well as in many rural areas. As far as I recall, nearly all of the intersections within the major cities and towns are controlled via traffic lights, *Stop * signs or *Give Way * signs. There are a few uncontrolled intersections, and then it’s just a case of giving way to the right and/or using your common sense. In many rural areas traffic volumes are low, so there’s not usually any problem.
Yeah, I think you’re worrying about this a bit too much
We have these in Australia too, but they’re very very uncommon, and I’ve never encountered one in a built-up area. You’re certainly not going to have to deal with signless intersections in urban or suburban areas, and probably not even on the main roads in rural areas.
It’s basically the same rule in Australia. However, you will usually get some advance warning on a country road of cross roads. Note that (at least in Australia), at a T intersection, unless otherwise signposted, traffic on the through road has priority, and traffic on the road that ands at the intrersection has to give way (yield).
You don’t have to stop at every minor alley in a city, or at every lane in the country: if it’s a private road, they have to give way when entering the public road, and if it’s a very minor public road, it will usually have a “Stop” or “Give way” sign.
However, you will find main roads narrower than you are used to in parts of NZ, so you might need to drive a bit slower, at least until you get used to them. And on a road with little traffic, you’ll just have to remember to drive on the left instead of the right.
I drove everywhere from dirt roads in Fiordland and Mt. Aspiring Natl. Parks to the middle of Auckland. Don’t worry; the signage is usually pretty good, and though the yield to right-way traffic is a bit unnerving at first, you get used to it surprisingly quickly. I felt perfectly comfortable behind the wheel after only a few days, and after a couple weeks, the few real differences in New Zealand driving hardly required a second thought. After a month of it, coming back to the States actually threw me for a loop the first day!
Again, don’t sweat it. You’re going to one of the best places on the globe, as far as I’m concerned. The drivers in NZ are generally much better-behaved than they are here in the States (though I must say, I live around Boston, which means my expectations for driver etiquette hover at an abysmal low). The few times I really screwed up badly, the most trouble anyone ever gave me was a quick toot on the horn. Enjoy yourself! I wish I were going with you!
First, have a wonderful vacation! I went to NZ in March, and loved almost every second of it. I cannot wait to go back someday. You’ll have a great time.
I also drove around the country - the uncontrolled intersections were about as common as uncontrolled intersections here in the states (or at least in my state). It wasn’t in major cities on freeway-like roads. But in residential areas (like here) or out in the country (like here), or in small towns without much traffic (like here) there would be intersections without signals. And just as here, you need to slow down when sightlines are bad, do the same there. As far as intersections go, your driving instincts will serve you well.
Where they’ll fail you is when you try to cross the street on foot. (Cars, they come from everywhere, you’ll check to your left, you’ll check to your right, then left again, then right again, and still, they come out from nowhere and barely miss you.) Also, when you drive now, you probably situate your body in the left third of the lane (you don’t notice doing this, but you do), and that doesn’t work when you’re driving with the steering wheel on the right on the left hand side of the road. Every American I met had the same problem with drifting off the lane/road toward the left.
I never had a problem keeping the car properly in the lane. Once I turned on to the wrong side of the road, but that was it.
The main thing is to specify to the car rental company in advance that you want an automatic transmission in your car. Otherwise you’re most likely going to get a manual and believe me, you don’t want to have to learn to shift with the other hand (speaking from experience here).
One problem you will have is that you will keep going to the wrong side of the car to get in. After a week or two, you’ll learn not to do that. Also, you may find that some of the controls are on the wrong side of the steering wheel. Most American cars have the turn signal on the left and the windshield wipers on the right. All the rental cars I’ve had in NZ had those reversed. So at first, I was signalling turns with the wipers. And then when I got back home, I had to unlearn those habits, after going to the wrong side of my own car and signaling the first turn with the wipers.
I’d just like to mention the one road rule which tripped me up initially was to give way when turning left to oncoming cars turning right. Other than that, I don’t think you will have any problem at intersections. As has been said, most will have either lights, stop or give way signs or a roundabout.
There are very few unsigned intersections. That is mainly a catch-all rule, for those occasions where signs are down, or the few odd places where they are not there. You will be able to understand and see the signs on connection roads easily most of the time - from quite some distance. The shapes are distinctive. Note the rules for unsigned intersections also apply when all the intersections with cars have the same sign. Mostly the side roads will be the ones to give way.
Make sure you understand the rule that jastu mentioned, that is the one that can get you into the most trouble if you get it wrong - cars will turn right across in front of you into a road if they see you are going to turn left into it, and they have right of way.
You’ll find the place you are most likely to get on the wrong side of the road when driving is when you turn right at an intersection. Turning left, you just follow the lane around, but turning right, you are crossing other lanes, and your instinct will be to keep right of the traffic island.
And add about 30-50% to the time you would estimate a long trip to take in the US. The New Zealand idea of a highway is not likely to match yours. Plus the scenery is so good you’ll find you spend more time watching it.
Ja, you’re overanalyzing. You’ll be fine - it’s really pretty easy to drive on the left when you’re used to staying right.
About the manual - if you routinely drive a manual here, it won’t be too difficult to drive a manual there. You’ll be shifting with your left hand, instead of your right, but the pattern’s the same. I overanalyzed and thought the pattern would be a mirror image, and thus, was constantly putting the car into the wrong gear. Once I figgered it out, I was good to go.
When driving through Auckland you may notice many people who appear to have got their drivers licences out of the weetbix box. Be afraid…ok not afraid, just careful.
My wife and I made friends with an Aucklander while in NZ, who kindly put us up in his wonderful place high above the city. While sitting in his parlour chatting about our trip, he apologized preemptively for the rush-hour traffic we drove through to get to his appartment. “Oh, the drivers are so rude and reckless in Auckland”, etc. Not wanting to be rude ourselves, we had to stifle laughter. Even driving left-side, Auckland was a cakewalk compared to most big American cities I’ve driven in. As I said above, I live around Boston. Boston driving is, quite simply, not uncommonly egregiously offensive. New York driving, while more orderly, is brutally aggressive. Washington D.C. driving, at least on the Beltway, is a white-knuckle deathmatch where, if you are especially unluckly, you might find yourself in the crossfire of warring gangs (I’m not joking; a woman was killed in just this scenerio when I lived there, and other shooting incidences were reported on the Beltway).
I don’t wish to belitte the stress felt by Auckland drivers, who do, undoubtedly, suffer more aggravation and incovenience than some of their fellow New Zealander in more rural parts. But I’d take learning a stick on a big hill in Auckland any day over a typical trip to the grocery store that takes me down the Jamaicaway or Storrow Drive.
