Road toll: How bad are tourist drivers really?

Saturday, 24 February 2018

Not many accidents caused by foreign drivers: Bill English

A judge has highlighted the issue of foreign drivers while sentencing of a Japanese doctor for careless driving causing injury to four people during a visit to New Zealand.

Judge Kevin Phillips said on Thursday there was strong public interest in the case of Kansei Uno, a 54,-year-old associate professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital, particularly as overseas tourists driving rental cars 'without proper skills' put other motorists 'at risk' on New Zealand roads.

Tourist drivers and their abilities is an issue that doesn't goes away. We've looked at it before. But what do the latest numbers say?

The abilities of foreign drivers are often questioned. But how bad are they, really?

In total in New Zealand in 2016, there were 286 fatal crashes, 2099 serious injury crashes and 7583 minor injury crashes.

**READ MORE:

Kansei Uno in the Dunedin District Court.

* Tourist crash victim urges Government intervention

* Visiting doctor 'could be fired' over Boxing Day crash in Otago

Overseas licence holders involved in crashes from 2005 to 2016.

* Road toll expected to click over 400 in 2018

* Local drivers can be just as bad as foreigners, says man**

The percentage of fatal and injury crashes involving overseas licence holders.

The country had 3.5 million international visitors that year, and overseas drivers (those with an overseas driver's licence) were involved in 24 fatal traffic crashes, 114 serious injury crashes and 506 minor injury crashes, according to a Ministry of Transport report.

That means Kiwis were involved in 262 fatal crashes, 1985 serious injury crashes and 7077 minor injury crashes, while the population of New Zealand that year was 4.693 million.

So, there was one fatal crash for every 145,000 foreigners. And one fatal crash for every 17,900 Kiwis.

That seems like a big difference. However, to get the real picture, there's a lot more we need to know.

How many of those foreigners actually drove on our roads? For that matter, how many Kiwis drove?

How long did each person - tourist or New Zealander spend driving? How long did tourists spend here compared to the number of crashes they were involved in?

It's a complex issue. We don't have all the answers, but consider the following.

In 2017, the average intended stay for international visitors to New Zealand was 18 days, according to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Between 2008 and 2014, 87 per cent of the New Zealand population aged over 15 held some form of driving licence.

We also know that from 2011 - 2014, Kiwi drivers, on average, drove about 28 km per day We don't have those figures for overseas drivers.

Over the five years from 2012-2016, 6.2 per cent of fatal and injury crashes involved an overseas driver. Over the same period, 4.1 per cent of all drivers involved in crashes were overseas drivers.

Regional and seasonal variation existed. For example, three per cent of crashes in Hamilton involved overseas drivers from 2012 to 2016. During the same period, 40 per cent of crashes in Westland and 31 per cent of crashes in the Queenstown Lakes area involved overseas drivers.

Half of all visitor crashes occurred in the four months from December to March, and short-term visitors had about twice as many crashes in the months January to March as the months May to July.

Peter Mckennie, Manager of Operations, Road Policing, said: 'While there has been a significant increase in the number of visitors to New Zealand with tourism up, there has not been a corresponding increase in crashes or incidents on the roads involving visiting drivers.

'In 2016, overseas licence holders were involved in 4.3 per cent of fatal and injury car crashes … Most visiting drivers manage their journey through New Zealand perfectly safely and without incident. Of those who are involved in a crash, it is most often for the same reasons that a New Zealand driver crashes.

'As part of the Safer Journeys Road Safety Strategy, police [are] working closely with the Ministry of Transport, the New Zealand Transport Agency, and other partners on the Visiting Drivers Project.

'The purpose of the Visiting Drivers Project is to improve road safety for, and of, all drivers, visitors and locals alike. The project has an on-the-ground focus in Otago, Southland, and the West Coast but some of the successful initiatives have been rolled out nationwide.

'Our advice to visiting drivers is much the same as for all drivers, including drive fresh and alert – not tired – taking regular breaks is important. Visitors from some countries are used to driving on the opposite side of the road, so being mindful of staying left on New Zealand roads, and we have plenty of prompts on roads and in rental vehicles to remind them of that.

'Making sure you drive at a safe speed within the speed limits, every vehicle occupant to wear their seatbelt or be in an appropriate child restraint, and also be mindful of being distracted while driving, so putting things like phones away and parking somewhere safe if you want to take a closer look at the scenery. We want everybody to have a safe journey.'

There are limitations to the data and many factors to consider, so a clear picture is hard to establish.

You can find further, incredibly detailed, statistics on crash data relating to overseas and New Zealand drivers here.

This story has been updated to add further information.