More resources for visiting drivers

A new virtual driving website for visiting drivers is a welcome addition to the range of efforts the tourism industry and government are making to improve safety on New Zealand roads, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) says.

The AA Visiting Drivers Training Programme provides real-world examples of New Zealand driving and road conditions.

TIA is delighted by the innovative approach taken by AA to help keep both visitors and New Zealanders safe on our roads, Chief Executive Chris Roberts says.

“This new tool will add to the collection of resources available to prepare visitors for New Zealand driving conditions. We are encouraging TIA members to promote the AA Visiting Drivers Training Programme to their visitors. We will also add it to the DriveSafe website we launched in January, which provides a range of important messages and useful information for visiting drivers, with key messages translated into Mandarin, German and French.”

The AA Visiting Drivers Training Programme builds on the extensive work already done by TIA and the tourism industry to educate visiting drivers on what’s different about driving in New Zealand. These include:

• a Visiting Driver Code of Practice for rental vehicle operators
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• guidelines to help rental vehicle operators and accommodation providers communicate important driving safety messages to visitors
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• the DriveSafe website.
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Background
TIA is involved in the Visiting Drivers Signature Project which is focusing on ways to improve road safety for visiting drivers and New Zealanders. Its scope is broad, with potential actions ranging from providing accurate travel time information, to introducing safer speeds on high risk visitor routes. Led by the New Zealand Transport Agency, the project participants include representatives from the tourism and rental vehicle sectors, police, local government and central government.

The Visiting Drivers Signature Project is a key deliverable under the government’s Safer Journeys Action Plan 2013-15. For more information, go to

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