Rental Vehicle Industry Welcomes Road Safety Action

MEDIA RELEASE

Rental Vehicle Industry Welcomes Government’s Road Safety Action

Rental vehicle operators today welcomed the Government’s announcement that it is fast-tracking new road safety measures in the South Island.

Rental Vehicle Association (RVA) Chief Executive Barry Kidd said the new initiatives, coupled with efforts to raise awareness and educate overseas drivers about NZ road rules and conditions, would greatly assist in improving road safety for all drivers.

“The RVA commends the Government for taking further action to enhance the safety of driving conditions in the Otago and Southland regions and to extend the Visiting Drivers Signature Project to the West Coast,” Mr Kidd said.

“Rental car operators in New Zealand are committed to the safety of all road users, including their overseas customers, and are fully supportive of these practical measures to reduce road trauma.”

Mr Kidd said the Government’s acceleration of physical safety initiatives in regions popular with tourists would strengthen the extensive efforts by the rental vehicle industries to educate visiting drivers about road rules and driving conditions in New Zealand.

“Road safety affects everyone and is a responsibility for every driver on the road. It is a complex issue that requires a multi-faceted response and the RVA is pleased to be working with a number of agencies such as the New Zealand Police, Transport Agency and the Tourism Industry Association to help create safer roads,” Mr Kidd said.

“Although only a small percentage of the 2.6 million tourists who visit New Zealand each year are involved in road incidents, the rental vehicle industry is doing whatever practical to ensure that these visitors understand that our driving conditions may be more challenging to what they are used to.”

Mr Kidd said the rental vehicle industry will continue to work with the Government, New Zealand Police and other agencies to identify further potential initiatives.

“The RVA and its members want our roads to be as safe as possible for all drivers – both domestic and overseas – and we remain open to practical measures that contribute to this goal.”

The RVA sits with government and other industry and tourism agencies on the Transport Agency’s Visiting Drivers Signature Project, which is aimed at formulating further innovative and creative solutions to the issue.

The RVA and individual rental vehicle operators have already implemented a range of initiatives to educate and raise awareness around road safety for visiting drivers. These include –

1. The RVA Overseas Driver Best Practice Toolkit, which provides rental vehicle operators with a series of resources to help educate overseas drivers at every customer interaction about NZ road rules and conditions.

2. The ‘Safe Driving in New Zealand’ video available in English, Chinese, French and German. It provides guidance on essential road rules and safe driving tips, like fatigue management and distance planning.

3. The safe driving steering wheel tag, which was launched nationwide as a result of a successful trial in Queenstown. The tag attaches to the steering wheel of the rental vehicle and promotes five key safe driving messages, such as keeping left and wearing seatbelts, in a simple, visual format.

4. A series of rental vehicle and tourism operator briefings aimed at reinforcing and promoting the overseas driver safety initiatives to rental vehicle and tourism operators around New Zealand.

5. The Regional Information Sharing Network (RISN), which is being developed in conjunction with the Tourism Industry Association and will be trialled in Queenstown. It is designed to enable local operators to be aware of potential customers who have had a rental contract cancelled due to particularly incompetent and/or dangerous driving.

6. Provision to all overseas rental drivers of the NZTA’s ‘What’s different about driving in NZ’ brochure.

7. Provision of modern vehicle fleets featuring the latest safety measures.

8. In-vehicle stickers and mirror hangers featuring key road safety messages.

9. Specific road safety pages on operator websites, containing useful information in six languages (for example: europcar.co.nz/road-safety).

10. Emails sent to rental customers three days prior to pick-up with safety tips and useful links to other information so they can familiarise themselves with NZ road rules and conditions.

11. Communication with tour operators and online brokers to explore further opportunities to reach out to visiting drivers early.

These initiatives are in addition to other key measures implemented by the NZ Government under itsSafer Journeys strategy, NZ Police, NZTA, Tourism NZ and Tourism Industry Association. These include the DriveSafe website (www.drivesafe.org.nz), the best practice guidelines to rental vehicle operators regarding visiting drivers, and the road safety video shown to arriving visitors on Air New Zealand flights.

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