How much of a problem are tourist drivers on New Zealand roads?
The best indicator we have is the statistics described in the answer to question one. Nationally, tourist drivers represent small numbers compared to New Zealand drivers involved in crashes. But when we look at regional trends we can see the percentage of crashes, involving all types of overseas drivers, rises in key tourist regions around the country. This relates to the greater proportion of tourists in the driving population of these areas. Why was Otago/Southland chosen as an area of study? Otago and Southland were selected because they have high visitor numbers travelling to significant tourist attractions such as the Southern Lakes and Milford Sound. In both regions, the percentage of crashes involving an overseas driver was significantly higher than the national average. Why do overseas drivers crash? Between 2001-2003, the fact that the driver was from overseas was a contributing factor to the crash for only 16% of overseas drivers. This means that factors such as driving on th
