Disqualify wrong way drivers, says campaigner

Motorists who drive down the wrong side of the road should face instant disqualification, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an active road safety campaigner, says:

“Drivers, especially tourists, who drive down the wrong side of the open road are a serious hazard to other motorists.”

“The police already have the power to temporarily disqualify drivers who speed. Any driver caught travelling down the wrong side of the road without a lawful excuse should also be liable to instant disqualification for, say, 28 days. If the vehicle was a rental, it should be transported back to the rental company at the driver’s expense.”

“This strategy would be much more effective than merely ticketing the driver, because it would remove both the driver and the vehicle from the equation. Fines don't stop drivers repeating mistakes. Disqualification and loss of vehicle does."

“I sympathise with the fact that many tourists are simply unfamiliar with our roads. However, any motorist who drives down the wrong side of the road is not safe to be behind the wheel of a car. It’s not good enough to say that driving on the wrong side was the result of a moment’s lapse of attention: in many tourist areas it is a daily occurrence, which has often ended in tragedy.”

Earlier this year, Birkenhead couple Anne and Martin Perkinson were seriously injured and their classic car written off after an American driver, who was confused about which side of the road other drivers would be using, turned into their path near Otorohanga.

The 75-year-old American tourist and his passenger had been in the country for only two days and had picked up the rental car just three hours before he crashed.

The tourist, who was following the instructions on a GPS, drove into the path of the Perkinsons because he was confused and thought the Perkinsons would pass him on his left, as they would have in America.

Despite what they have suffered, Anne and Martin Perkinson do not hold a grudge against the American tourist – just the system that allowed him behind the wheel of a car that he was incapable of driving safely.

Anne Perkinson adds:

‘‘I’m not happy with tourists coming and being able to rent and drive a car without having the appropriate skills to drive here.’

ENDS

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