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What’s different about driving in New Zeland? Well, just about everything. Let me try to explain.
First of all, they drive in the left hand side of the road. Not too difficult to figure out as long as there are other cars on the road to follow along behind. The problem occurs when you are pulling out and no one else is on the road and you have a quick panic attack and second guess your decision to pull all the way across to the other side of the street. Its just not natural after driving on the right hand side of the street for almost ten years. But no biggy. It just takes some getting used to.
Ok here is one that I still have trouble remembering. You know how when you are driving in the states you can make a right turn on red so long as there is no traffic coming? Yeah, the same thing doesn’t hold true over here for left turns on red. Apparently that is illegal. So silly. Who would have thought that a red light could always mean stop? I have always been under the impression that they were more like suggestions that absolute rules but I was kindly informed by the police officer at the airport that I was labouring under a serious misconception and should remedy that impression immediately or further action would have to be taken in the future. Nice guy.
But by far the strangest and probably the dumbest rule that tends to cause the most accidents over here and should really be changed (I’m a bit biased against this one if you can’t tell) is the right hand turn rule. Sounds harmless enough, right? The basic rule is that if you are turning, you must give way to all vehicles that are not turning. No problem. In all other situations, you must give way to vehicles crossing or coming from you right. Confused about why this is the silliest rule of all? Well, let me see if I can explain the ramifications of this blanket right hand rule. Say you are driving down the road and are going to turn left (since you are driving on the left then by turning left you are not crossing any lanes of traffic) in the US you would have the right of way to make the turn. But no no no. Not in New Zealand. Here, if there was another car that was coming from the other direction and going to be turning right into that same drive that you were going to left into, they have the right of way because technically they are on your right because they drive on the left hand side of the road. In theory, this works well because it keeps them from backing up traffic on that side of the road. In practice, however, people aren’t always thinking about the other land being on the right and more often than not make that left hand turn without even looking to see if someone is making the right hand turn. Then BANG!!! Fun, huh? I thought so.
But this being New Zeland, even rad safety is done with the laid back cruisey-ness that defines the spirit of this place. While driving yesterday past the field where there was some sort of big rugby match (the obsession with rugby here almost matches that of football back home and is a whole other story) there was one of those flashing signs telling cars as they go from two lanes to one to “merge like a zip.” It didn’t register immediately what this sign was trying to get across. Then I realized that the sign was reminding drivers how to merge properly… like a zipper. How cute is that?!?
If I memorize all of your driving complaints, and the similarly weird ones I remember from Aus, will you let me drive when I get there? Please? If I beg?
i’m going through the same things here in the UK, especially the left on red thing. so stupid. also, liz will just smack me sometimes when we are the only car on the road and say…”hey, you’re on the wrong side of the road!”
LOL don’t worry. It’s amazing how fast you get used to it. I can even drive manuals with the wrong hand now.