Tourists face assessment for New Zealand car hire

Travellers to New Zealand looking to rent a vehicle will be questioned before they are able to borrow car keys on their trip, according to a report on Radio New Zealand. Drive Car Hire, who rent cars in London, have commented on the upcoming changes.

Petitioning and widespread disapproval have led to the trial after several incidents on the country’s roads in recent times, where foreign drivers have been part of fatal accidents. The Tourism Industry Association (TIA) worked with car rental companies to develop a new assessment.

Twenty-five of these firms have signed up to the trial beginning in June, which attempts to improve road safety. Questions such as past experience of renting cars abroad and if they have driven on the left side of the road will require answering.

TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said: “The indications are that we can expect a bumper tourism season next summer. So we want to do all we can to keep both our visitors and New Zealanders safe on our roads.”

Tourists may be required to drive around a car park before being allowed to hire a vehicle if staff believe they are not knowledgeable about highway rules. The assessments are set to be available in four languages: French, German, English and Mandarin.

A spokesperson for Drive Car Hire released a statement in response to the changes. They said: “Road safety is of paramount importance for all drivers and it is encouraging to hear that so many car rental companies have agreed to the new assessment. This will hopefully have a significant impact in such a beautiful country which is growing in popularity among Brits.”

Drive Car Hire is a London-based car hire company, offering over 1500 self-drive hire vehicles nationwide. With 20 years of experience between their specialist team members, they pride themselves on their customer service and ability to provide the vehicle you need. They have access to everything from articulated lorries and black taxis to 50cc mopeds and dual control cars for driving tests.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia