Road Hazards: Anecdata

I drive quite a bit. 

Living in the bottom of the South Island,  getting to anywhere significant other means a trip of 300kM to Wanaka and anything up to 750kM, if I'm going to the ferry. Not that I'm doing that latter at the moment, as it would be nice to have a bit more assurance that I'll get there and back again. 

So: if it's the far side of Cook Strait, it's fly and hire a car but, given Air NZ look at you quite oddly if you try and check in something like a drop saw or 20Kg bags of clay, it's limiting.

I also just spent some time in Australia, and drove "Australian" distances - like from Adelaide to Melbourne.

I noticed a few things about the driving behavior in both countries.

The Australians are more disciplined in the cites, and far less inclined to mess about, well under the speed limit. Sydney drivers, the cabbies in particular, are more aggressive than those of Adelaide, Brisbane or Melbourne - probably becasue the city is so congested. And it's just Sydney-siders being Sidneysiders.

The roading network varies by state: Victorian roads aren't great, NSW roads are about the same, the SA roads are good and they are all better than the roads in New Zealand - in terms of both design and maintenance. Traffic planning seems to emphasise efficiency and flow, particularly in states like SA and QLD, as opposed to behaving as though roads are an inherently evil necessity, but no alternatives like good public transport get offered.

I also like cars: a lot of people do, but my spin is a bit different as I look at driver behavior in different types. I'll give you a few examples.

The Kia Carnival. They are one of the few a large people movers still in the market. They are beloved of people trying to move lots of people or stuff, and who want better internal space design than large SUVs offer. In both countries the driving on these land yachts can be pretty erratic: sudden un-signalled lane changes and U-turns seem to be a favourite, as does dithering at roundabouts. My theory is they are a rental company staple, and therefore many of the drivers are trying to cope with both driving on the other side of the road and the crowd in the vehicle. It wouldn't be such an issue if they weren't 2+ tonnes and the size of a living room.

The Tesla. Seem to be driven by the censorious who want to signal their green and technology virtues in the Megawatt range, even though there are more suitable EV's for NZ conditions, and cheaper. Weirdly, you can tell them in on-line car forums as well: they just can't bite down on the desire to lecture people, about whose situation they know nothing.

The immaculate, older Honda Jazz. In days of yore, the old-person car was the Morris Minor (hmmm), then the Morris 1100 (ugh), then the Austin Allegro (nooo!) and then the early generation Honda Civic (much better). After a couple more iterations, it's now the Jazz. They're a good little car, but believe the ads that they've never been driven faster than a brisk trot.

Large Utes with no tow bars, no dirt, and a high polish: they are a daily driver becasue 'big cars are safe' (insert Tui yeah/nah ad here), and sometimes, someone occasionally wants to move a mountain bike or has to cross an unsealed car-park. Vaguely car-like to drive these days, but still not fun, and often to be driven by road-using solipsists, the way Volvos used to be: no-one else exists and they couldn't source a Saracen armoured vehicle to elbow their way through city traffic.

Big Audis, both sedans and SUVs: they seem to have taken over as the car of choice for the press-on-regardless brigade of drivers, and that gets reflected in tailgating, speed and passing manoeuvres. It used to BMWs, but I guess they became too common. Either that, or they think they're in a Jason Bourne movie, where everyone drives a black, heavily tinted Audi...

The POS hatchback. Erratic driving, loud exhaust and quite often closely escorted by other vehicles with flashing lights. One could almost say pursued. Almost exclusively driven by drivers with their hoodies up and trucker caps pulled waaaay down.

The POS sleeper van, often showing a 'self contained' sticker that looks hand-drawn. Frequently erratic and driven slowly by tourists used to the other side of the road and who are in the black pit of despair that is realising what a horror they've bought. A couple of years ago I was one of 30-plus vehicles trapped behind a spray-canned 1980's rust-box doing 65 through the Lewis pass. When I finally got past them, the feral specimens piloting were completely oblivious and I really wondered what they were on.

Cruiser motorcycles, most typically Harley Davidsons. Made for American motorways: on our lumpy and winding goat tracks, coupled to their lack of clearance, short travel suspension and slow handling, not so much. Not fast, despite the noise: an enthusiastically ridden modern sports 600 will be little more than a set of taillights vanishing over the forward horizon. Tend to be driven by chunky guys in middle age who seem to have missed out on the idea of ironic cliche. Fun Fact: the largest occupational group owning HDs in the USA is...Dentists.