Driving in New Zealand - driving on the left, speeding & parking fines
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,958
We have it in the UK too. Over here it's to allow for differences in calibration between the car speedometer and the equipment the authorities use.
#18
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 8,953
This was the case wherever I was driving, regardless of the time of day. Just about all of the two-lane roads are pretty generous in allowing for passing...the only time I really encountered any kind of traffic that slowed me down was driving from Hobbiton towards Auckland.
#19
Join Date: Dec 2012
Programs: NZ*S
Posts: 773
But the un-official tolerance is discretionary, the law is still 100kph, so if you give the cop a reason there is nothing stopping them from writing a ticket for 105 all year round. I don't think you'd have a legal leg to stand on if you tried to fight it in court. (but for NZD$80 why would you bother)
#20
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 93
If a cop nabs you at 111kph, 99 times out of 100 your own speedo is likely to be reading over 110kph so fair game. I bought my car brand new 3 months ago and I had Snapchat open (as the passenger obviously.....), swiped to the speed filter and with my speedo bang on 100 it was reading 95.6. Quite frustrating really, I would much prefer my car to go exactly what it says I'm going.
Car A could be going 99, Car B could be going 95, and both speedos read 100. 4kph is quite a big difference if you're on the motorway and potentially holding people up.
Car A could be going 99, Car B could be going 95, and both speedos read 100. 4kph is quite a big difference if you're on the motorway and potentially holding people up.
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,958
If a cop nabs you at 111kph, 99 times out of 100 your own speedo is likely to be reading over 110kph so fair game. I bought my car brand new 3 months ago and I had Snapchat open (as the passenger obviously.....), swiped to the speed filter and with my speedo bang on 100 it was reading 95.6. Quite frustrating really, I would much prefer my car to go exactly what it says I'm going.
Car A could be going 99, Car B could be going 95, and both speedos read 100. 4kph is quite a big difference if you're on the motorway and potentially holding people up.
Car A could be going 99, Car B could be going 95, and both speedos read 100. 4kph is quite a big difference if you're on the motorway and potentially holding people up.
#24
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 142
This was the case wherever I was driving, regardless of the time of day. Just about all of the two-lane roads are pretty generous in allowing for passing...the only time I really encountered any kind of traffic that slowed me down was driving from Hobbiton towards Auckland.
http://s9.postimg.cc/cfb5v1627/sheep1.jpg
http://s2.postimg.cc/sn9du2xwp/sheep2.jpg
#25
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 8,953
You probably did not run into these guys
http://s9.postimg.cc/cfb5v1627/sheep1.jpg
http://s2.postimg.cc/sn9du2xwp/sheep2.jpg
The one thing I was very thankful I was paying attention for was that I saw 3-4 kiwis crossing the road. Know they are endangered, so hit the brakes and made sure they got to one side of the road or the other
#26
formerly known as ravishah
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 195
We drove about 4,000k there in about 3 weeks. Main thing I would say is make sure you take the time to stop at the roadside pull-ins. You can get some fantastic views and shots - so keep your camera charged!
Not sure if you have anything like the 3 mobile deal we do in the UK but it gave us free data while in NZ so I just took a dashboard holder and used google maps for the whole time was perfectly fine. Do keep a paper map just in case you totally lose signal and get lost - but given there are so few roads its generally pretty easy to find your way or just ask someone. You can get a decent enough free one in the i-site's if you dont get one with the hire car.
Apart from that driving was pretty easy, try not to get too frustrated when you get stuck behind a camper van, otherwise you may end up trying to overtake in an unsafe area.
Not sure if you have anything like the 3 mobile deal we do in the UK but it gave us free data while in NZ so I just took a dashboard holder and used google maps for the whole time was perfectly fine. Do keep a paper map just in case you totally lose signal and get lost - but given there are so few roads its generally pretty easy to find your way or just ask someone. You can get a decent enough free one in the i-site's if you dont get one with the hire car.
Apart from that driving was pretty easy, try not to get too frustrated when you get stuck behind a camper van, otherwise you may end up trying to overtake in an unsafe area.
#27
Join Date: Dec 2012
Programs: NZ*S
Posts: 773
Even if you mean a GPS measured 90-95 kph rather than a speedometer estimated 90-95kph you are still going to be going slower than a reasonable portion of the traffic. (I generally sit on a GPS indicated 105-110 on open road if conditions are suitable, even at that speed you are unlikely to be ticketed)
#28
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 168
If it's your first time driving on a particular stretch of road, you should keep your speed in the 90-95km/h range. Let cars pass you if you see a lot of cars behind you.
Some of the drivers on the country roads drive those routes regularly, so obviously they will be more comfortable travelling at a higher speed - you don't need to feel pressured to travel that fast.
With regards to the speed tolerance - my advice is to follow your speedometer and travel at the speed limit.
Some of the drivers on the country roads drive those routes regularly, so obviously they will be more comfortable travelling at a higher speed - you don't need to feel pressured to travel that fast.
With regards to the speed tolerance - my advice is to follow your speedometer and travel at the speed limit.
#29
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 142
NZ Open GPS
I plan to bring my US Garmin GPS, and wonder if I should get the free NZ Open GPS map, or pay for one. Comments on the difference (other than $), and installation, etc.?
http://nzopengps.org/
http://nzopengps.org/
#30
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 8,953
I plan to bring my US Garmin GPS, and wonder if I should get the free NZ Open GPS map, or pay for one. Comments on the difference (other than $), and installation, etc.?
http://nzopengps.org/
http://nzopengps.org/
In other words - the free GPS map should be more than fine.