The same three dangerous driving behaviours are frequently reported by AA members on New Zealand roads – and they’re still happening all too often, the group says.
The three most common infringements drivers have concerns about from their fellow motorists are red light running, mobile phone use, and tailgating.
AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said the organisation often heard from its members about road safety and that these issues were consistently brought up.
He said other stubbornly common issues include incorrect indicating on roundabouts and failing to check blind spots.
Phone use still rampant on our roads
Mobile phone use while behind the wheel has been illegal since 2009, but that hasn’t stopped many drivers from texting and scrolling while on the road.
“Despite legal restrictions being in place for over 15 years now, it’s disappointing so many people still use their phones behind the wheel,” Thomsen said.
“Using a phone significantly impacts the drivers’ focus and reaction-time, meaning a crash is far more likely.”
NZTA said the penalty for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is $150 and 20 demerit points.
Orange means stop, not speed up
Running orange and red lights was another major concern.
“Drivers will accelerate at an amber light instead of preparing to stop when it is safe to do so, or still speeding through after the light has completely turned red,” Thomsen said.
“It heightens the risk of an intersection collision and is a clear driving offence.”
Another related pet peeve was people who enter intersections when there is not enough space on the other side, creating gridlock and delaying emergency vehicles.
NZTA said drivers who fail to stop at red lights receive a $150 fine.
Tailgating leaves no room for error
Another dangerous habit Kiwi drivers see on the road is tailgating, or following too closely behind another vehicle.
“When doing so at faster speeds it leaves little to no room for reaction time,” Thomsen said.
Following distance should two seconds in dry conditions, four when its wet, or more when the weather is bad or something is causing poor visibility.
This gives you enough time to react if something happens ahead of you. To check your following distance, watch the vehicle in front pass a landmark such as a power pole or sign, and count “one thousand and one, one thousand and two”.
If you pass that landmark before you finish counting, you’re too close.
“Ideally everyone is giving each other enough space, but if you do find yourself being tailgated, don’t feel pressured to speed up,” Thomsen said.
“Avoid any confrontation and pull over if it is safe to do so to let them pass.”
Tailgating can attract fines of $150 for offending drivers.
Roundabouts and blind spots
Thomsen also pointed out another couple of unsafe driving habits that remain common on New Zealand roads.
One persistent issue involved drivers failing to indicate properly, or at all, when navigating roundabouts.
Thomsen said this behaviour created unnecessary confusion and increases the likelihood of collisions.
“Failing to indicate correctly (or at all) creates confusion for other drivers and increases the risk of collision.
Some drivers will signal right when going straight through when indicating isn’t necessary, or they fail to signal at all when exiting the roundabout.”
Failing to check blind spots when merging or changing lanes was another.
“Drivers may forget to scan over their shoulder when merging into traffic, changing lanes, leaving a curb, turning or performing a u-turn,” Thomsen said.
“This puts motorcyclists, cyclists and other road users at a greater risk.”
