Indian driver's behaviour near Queenstown indicates stricter requirements for car rentals by people from some countries needed

India is well-known as one of the worst countries for reckless and stupid driving behaviour.    An editorial in the Timaru Herald is below.

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On Monday, a tourist heading to Queenstown was reported for driving in the wrong lane at least four times. Sound familiar?

A Fairfax report of Vinod Deviprasad Singh's appearance in the Queenstown District Court indicated he was "fully in the opposite lane on blind corners" on those four occasions. In the circumstances, it's surprising we know of only two drivers who had to take evasive action.

Shockingly, Singh, an Indian property developer, told the court he didn't know what the centre lines on the road were for. He explained that in India, drivers were allowed to cross the centre line if there were no cars on the opposite side of the road, and that in most areas there was a small concrete wall in the centre of the road. Presumably he meant that wall was an indication the line shouldn't be crossed.

So it's probably not too surprising that he was seen crossing the centre line, and passing cars on double yellow lines. He knew no different.

It's easy for us to shake our heads, isn't it, and mutter about incompetence or recklessness, but at the heart of this scenario is a knowledge gap. The question is, who's responsible for that?

This report immediately put me in mind of South Canterbury youngster Sean Roberts, who is behind a petition aimed at tourists being required to sit a practical driving test before being able to drive in New Zealand. Sean's father, Grant, and another man, were killed by a young Chinese motorist, who had been in the country one day, in the Lindis Pass two years ago.

Associate Minister of Transport Michael Woodhouse has said he would ask officials to provide advice on Sean's proposal.

After Singh was fined $400 and disqualified for six months, a spokesman for the company he rented his car from said information, including a flier explaining what was different about New Zealand road rules, would have been provided to him when he filled in the necessary paperwork.

That sounds to me like it leaves the onus for reading the information on the vehicle renter, which is dangerous.

Surely, in the absence of a mandatory test, it should be incumbent on those renting vehicles to tourists be certain they understand the basics of driving in New Zealand, given the differences that may exist from their own countries' road rules. Judge Michael Turner implied as much when he said tourists would continue to offend in this way until changes were made by rental car companies.

Add in that he said such offending was particularly common in the lower South Island, and it seems clear that, short of beefed-up legislation, a more proactive, safety-before-sales approach from rental companies is the best way to address an ongoing problem.