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Road Rules and Traffic Regulations in New Zealand - Driving Nuances

1. Foreign drivers are permitted to drive in the country only if they have the international driving license. It is also possible to translate your driving license into English, but in this case the translation must be notarized.
2. The international driving license can be used for up to 12 months. Drivers, who plan to stay in the country for more than a year, will need to apply for local driving license. The fine for driving without the license ranges from 400 to 1,000 NZD.
3. Left driving is, without a doubt, the most important distinguishing feature of New Zealand's roads. Therefore, foreign drivers may find it quite unusual to drive in the country. However, there are not so many cars on the roads of New Zealand, so it usually takes short time to adapt to the new rules.

Nuances of Car Rental in New Zealand

To save on your rental, we advise to book your car in advance. You will save the most if you do this several weeks or even several months prior to your trip. Rental offices in New Zealand usually raise rental prices over time, based on the number of cars left available for the accounting period.

When looking for an exotic car (cabriolet, minivan or limousine), we advise to check in the rental offices located at airports, as they usually provide much wider choice comparing to offices in urban areas.

Upon receipt of invoices, bills and documents for your car at the rental location, please compare the obtained data with your voucher. Quite often, employees of rental offices in New Zealand try to add optional charges or services without informing customers.

It is very important to pick up your car at the rental office in New Zealand in a correct way. Prior to leaving the office, carefully inspect the car for various defects, and ensure that all the discovered defects are mentioned in your rental documents. In case of a non-compliance found, place a demand for correction to the rental officer.

You can always check our car actual rental offers in New Zealand. Simply use the search form at the top of the page. We guarantee that you will not find better prices anywhere else!
4. Several simple hints can help psychologically adjust to the new traffic conditions within a couple of days. First of all, you should remember that the driver’s right hand should be approximately at the center of the road, and the rear-view mirror is on the left. Cars that move on the right have the advantage on local roads.
5. The quality of roads in New Zealand remains at a high level, and numerous informational boards will make the ride even more pleasant. Only in remote parts of the country it is possible to see low quality roads, but there are only a few of them.
6. Foreign drivers should note that it is simply not possible to drive fast on the roads of New Zealand – the majority of roads in the country have numerous turns and are laid on mostly hilly terrain. When you start a ride, you shouldn’t expect reaching your place of destination in the shortest time possible. It is simply impossible to do that on the roads of New Zealand.
7. The police are not frequent guests on the road. However, this does not mean that drivers can ignore the traffic regulations easily. If a car moving in the opposite direction “winks” with high beams, it means that the driver wants to warn others about the road patrol.
8. The road traffic is mostly controlled by means of cameras and radar, which are present on all the roads. If there is a violation, it will be surely noticed, and soon the driver will receive the receipt for the payment of the fine sent by mail. If the driver receives more than 20 traffic tickets a year, his driving license will be automatically cancelled.
9. Speeding is considered a serious violation. Drivers will also have to pay heavy fines for talking on the cell phone while driving. It is worth noting that local drivers rarely exceed speed, and that happens not because of heavy fines, but because of measured and leisurely lifestyle that dominates in the country.
10. In the city the maximum permitted speed is from 50 to 70 km/h, and on country roads it is 100 km/h. As a rule, roads are well-equipped in terms of the number of cars, so it will not be difficult to find out the maximum permitted level of speed on a particular road. Drivers should be very attentive in mountainous areas with their narrow and winding roads. It is not recommended to exceed the speed of 55 km/h on such roads.
11. The fine for exceeding the speed varies from 30 to 630 NZD, and its amount depends on the speed of the offender. For example, if the speed is exceeded by 10 km/h, the fine will be approximately 80 NZD. If the speed limit is exceeded by more than 50 km/h, in addition to a large fine the driver is likely to face the cancellation of the driving license and even imprisonment.
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