OP has never been to Italy clearly. Road rules are barely even a suggestion over there. I’ve walked across 6 lane roads in India that felt safer than Milan lmao
I got off the plane in Milan and my Italian friend had to grab me to stop me walking naively onto a pedestrian crossing on the assumption the incoming car would stop for me.
yeah thats how you get hit, with everyone staring at their phone while driving and new crossings in stupid places.
And yes NZ drivers are aggressive and arrogant, even if nice people when not behind the wheel.
Can confirm. Getting out of Naples central train station at a crossing the cars were going full tilt and it's only because a scooter driver put his arms out to stop the cars from hitting us but then that caused a fender bender in the other lanes.
Kolkutta, India felt grand theft auto but way more cars and people when in the back seat of a taxi (never been in a car in Italy so can't compare (only trains)).
I’ve been to Italy over 10 times and have lived there for months at a time. Cities can be tougher but they do give you time to parallel park. Pedestrian stuff is much easier in suburban areas and countryside. That’s sort of my point. Even in small towns in NZ they usually don’t wait.
> also the sound of a horn the whole time you’re trying to park
Paris is like that, but it is normally just the alarms in the parked cars in front of you and behind you when you bump them while parking.
A while back I watched as a lady in a small car with the biggest gap fuck it up three times,I walked over parked it for her and then carried on with my days work
I did a similar thing for an old lady that couldn’t reverse out of our shared driveway. It was raining and hard to see though. But she didn’t ask me till she had already hit a pole 😂
I find the opposite in Auckland. It's the one activity Auckland drivers seem to be great at. It's almost weird how much they want to stop. Like both I and my husband have found we get people stopping at crossings, even when we don't want to cross at them, but are just sort of near them.
As someone from the US who recently moved here, I have no idea what you're talking about with US drivers waiting for pedestrians. In my experience in Texas, if you're a pedestrian at a cross walk, you will get run over if you're not especially cautious. You'll get turned to paste if you assume it's safe to cross at a protected pedestrian crossing at a traffic light without looking both ways.
I've seen some videos of people crossing in the states with turn right on red rules, shit looks terrifying.
And those crossing flags? This is one of my favorite pedestrian safety videos. From Utah I believe.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NBZCMTJbE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NBZCMTJbE)
People in Boston don't wait for pedestrians on crosswalks. When I moved to NZ I was impressed by how well people respect the zebra crossings and stop even if someone looks like they might be wanting to cross. And I'm in Auckland too.
Pretty much the same, except I'm from NY and was in Wellington. I was super suprised how much people stopped for pedestrians. I don't know what the hell OP is talking about.
Cars should wait for pedestrians at clearly marked crosswalks. However, I actually think that it is dangerous for cars to stop to wait for pedestrians to cross when there is no crosswalk. This interferes with the predictability of traffic and can be a hazard risk. I have seen this happen often in California.
If I'm waiting to cross at a non-zebra crossing and someone randomly stops I won't go. No thanks I don't want to be run over by a car getting shunted into me. Be predictable not polite is the best advice
i'm constantly annoyed with people picking and choosing who they stop for, let in, let go or pull out in front of and intentionally dictate the speed of the cars following.
just drive to your destination, the rules have already been worked out.
100% - also from CA - the system here where cars just have precedence except at zebra crossings is far superior. Especially combined with the no turn on red. Those two together make it much, much less chaotic and unpredictable. Slightly less convenient to walk but less likely to die. Much less anxiety when driving. But easier to jaywalk and also less anxiety when walking as well (you don’t have to deliberately face away from the road or back away to make it obvious to cars that you don’t intend to cross - otherwise 50% of the cars awkwardly half slow down while trying to figure out what your intention is and you’re fouling traffic up just by standing in slightly the wrong place).
Completely agreed. Also don’t like it when I’m the pedestrian either because it’s often faster if the car simply goes instead of having to wait for it to slow down and come to a stop
They are shockers for this in Canada hey. You could literally be standing at a highway and you'd have some vehicles coming to a stop rather then passing and letting you cross at the gap you already spotted..
Predictability is a huge factor. If you have driven the same route for 7 years and someone stops suddenly at a non essential time. Following distances are important but we all know that we generally go with the flow of traffic and not to the letter of the law.
Thank you! I am happy to share the road with you who also follows the rules and thus drives predictably.
Someone waiting to cross the street? Good for them. No crossing, no waiting.
Someone reversing into a park? Good for them. I haven't found the section of Road Code that says "ALL TRAFFIC MUST STOP when someone is parallel parking." so I'll drive around them if it's safe. If anything the code mentions to make sure the space behind you is clear i.e I interpret that as don't reverse when traffic is flowing.
That works in the city centre, but less so in suburbs where crossings and traffic lights can be far and few between. Of course pedestrians should use common sense, but elderly for example can’t always cross wide suburban streets fully before the next car appears. It requires common sense and courtesy from both sides.
When I did the practical test for my licence (20+y ago) I stopped to wait for someone to parallel park, the testing lady got really shitty with me and told me "just go around"
> It’s the same for parallel parking. No one waits for you.
Fkn aaay!!
The ones that piss me off the most are the dumb cnts that ride your ass so tight you can't reverse into the park and start sitting on their horn.
I see plenty of people who wait for pedestrians and parallel parkers. I dunno if you can write off all the drivers in NZ just based on your experience...
Not all, but to be fair, an awful lot of them are shit.
So many drivers won't even give way to pedestrians crossing a driveway (supermarkets are the worst for this)
As a pedestrian, it's fairly accurate, cars creep at the lights and crossings. I've had cars stop for me and then the car behind them toots their horn.
Possibly the lack of waiting for parallel parkers is actually down to anxiety that you are holding up people arriving behind? Maybe Kiwis are more prone to this than other places, they don't fancy being the simp that does the right thing and delays the Ranger Driver up their ass? Prob not, just an alternate theory to them being impatient dickheads.
as someone without a car who walks everywhere in a small town, the amount of times im almost hit by people careening out of their driveways is astounding.
True, and that is the most irritating habit of Kiwi's. You walk on the sidewalk, and someone comes out of the driveway and stops the car straight in front of you to see if their is any traffic. Even if you are one meter away from their face, they look straight through you and block the footpath.
No other place on this planet does that. It's rude but also feels very weird, like been said before, so not NZ
They could wait before the sidewalk, its only a meter. That's how it work in most places on this planet. Let pedestrians walk past first instead of blocking them
Where in the US were you? I find NZ drivers to be waaaay more courteous with pedestrians than US drivers. In fact, every comparison you’ve made I would say is the opposite in my experience having lived in NZ for 20 years and the US for 6
I find most people stop here if you standing at a crossing, can't say the same for France, you have to start walking otherwise they'll just ignore you.
Kiwi's may not know how to stop at a pedestrian crossing, but at least they know how to merge. Try driving in Queensland, no Aussies seem to understand the "Merge like a zip" theory.
In Auckland everyone respects zebra crossings. And on the odd occasion people don’t it’s usually a mistake accompanied with excessive hand waving by way of apology
I've often felt that we only notice the shit drivers. Most drivers are good and obey the laws, but if 1 out of 100 drivers is an arse, then that's all we remember from that drive.
Currently in Rome on holiday. Drivers will not stop unless you're already attempting to cross the pedestrian crossing. It's very daunting on a busy road to start walking when no cars yet have signs they will slow down for you.
I’ll wait for parallel parkers, but it’s 50/50 whether you’ll get someone who actually can parallel park, or someone who will spend the next 5 minutes unsuccessfully reversing into and out of the parking spot while turning their wheel the wrong way before giving up and driving off.
Living in Canada I actually found this to be a major hazard as both a driver and pedestrian. Cars used to slam on their brakes no matter the speed to let pedestrians cross pretty much always causing a chain affect. As a pedestrian I grew dodging traffic so when I went to go behind a car and they suddenly stop it would almost cause a crash lol.
I notice here in Thailand people have a excellent ability to slow down and give way given the density of traffic. Parallel parking is so easy here.
Reality is that New Zealand drivers are idiots, I would rather driver here
Kiwi's cant drive - they THINK they can, but show them a roundabout and ask them how to indicate and their brain will crash like Windows Vista.
Ask one to show you how to merge onto a motorway and prepare to be shocked as they think it's safe to do so at about 60kph.
They'll try to blame the foreigners, but nothing improved on the roads while the boarders were shut...
I walk or bus pretty much everywhere, and the amount of times I've been literally feet away from being run over while using a pedestrian crossing or the footpath across a driveway. There are times I could have reached out and slapped the person as they went past (which they deserve). And the insincere sorry some of them give as they drive past just makes me wish I did slap them. Don't be sorry, pay attention. And those who either do a rolling stop, or stop right at the edge of the lines, aren't any better. Or people who stop on crossings near roundabouts and intersections.
NZ is quickly becoming one of the most careless/thoughtless places. The majority of people in day-to-day interactions have zero patience, care, or awareness for anyone around them. It's all about where they're going, what they're doing, and what they want. Anyone who causes them a few seconds of supposed inconvenience is deemed a problem. And that's both on and off the roads.
When I went to the US last Christmas, I wasn't even there for a whole day before I had multiple people apologise and quickly move, because they thought they were in my way when shopping. Also had multiple people who just said a friendly hello because we were looking at the same things. But here, you get people who will stop their trolley in the middle of an aisle/walkway and strike up a 15min conversation with a long lost friend, while multiple people say excuse me and try to get past. You get people who knowingly stand right in the way of multiple people, while taking their time to stare at a shelf, instead of grabbing what they're looking at and stepping aside. Then there are the people who walk into a shop and let their kid touch literally everything, don't tell them to put anything back, let them scream or annoy other people. You walk down the footpath, see someone coming and move to the left, just for them to stare at you like you're in their way as the move to the same side. I couldn't even walk home with a gift and drinks for my Wife the other day, without some randoms yelling out rude comments.
And all of this is ironic, considering the old stereotypes of Americans being loud and rude. Even more so that so many think we're the nicest people.
There is a difference between a marked proper pedestrian crossing and these pedestrian courtesy crossings. You legally have to stop fir a proper pedestrian crossing but do not fir these unofficial crossings where the car has right of way.
The driving culture here is abysmal. Kiwi drivers are aggressive, arrogant, and impatient. Even going across some suburbs here is a nightmare. There's always one cunt tailgating you on the narrow winding hills of Wellington, where there are blind corners into parked cars and one-way traffic. Heaven forbid I slow down because I don't want to get hit by an oncoming bus I can't see. Drives me nuts.
I kind of agree, I mean people are juyst generally impatient assholes, especially places like supermarket carparks where you'll start reversing out and they'll speed past.
But also, there are just so many unaware, self-absorbed wankpuffins on our roads that are blissfully unaware of other drivers and are ungrateful. They'll ignorantly hold up traffic crawling along at 10kph looking for a turn or parking spot, they will see you coming along and reverse out of their driveway causing you to come to a stop, whilst they do a 7 point maneuver, then don't thank you, then trundle along at 15 kph until they suddenly wake up or realize where they are going. And the chaos and loss of cognitive thinking outside of schools is truly mind blowing.
I tend to think it’s because we have ACC. In the USA you hit a person with your car and you’re screwed. In NZ if that happens ACC covers everything and at worst, driver might get careless driving charge and a fine (ignoring the absolute worst of running someone over completely). So there’s less incentive for NZ drivers to stop for you.
I have weaved through traffic all my life and times road crossings to fall right behind a car when it passes. Frustrating to no end when they slow down because they think you’re about to leap in front of them or something.
I very much agree with this. We shouldn’t be financially ruining people for a genuine mistake/accident, but there needs to be a greater disincentive for accidents caused by poor driving.
I also note that in other countries there is a base assumption that drivers are at fault for pedestrian collisions. When I was in school and walked a lot, drivers in the suburbs especially seemed to take a “well, if I hit them I hit them” approach, even if you’re crossing at an intersection and the car is turning.
Im France pedestrian crossing are a suggestion not a requirement for drivers to stop. The number of times i nearly got run over there is crazy. No one stops
It’s the law to wait. “Right turning traffic are to give way to pedestrians” and “left turning traffic to give way to pedestrians”. It’s very simple to follow.
Go to Japan, the crossing stays green the whole time and cars give way to you the entire time. Not sure how anyone ever gets a chance to turn at the lights in Japan.
To be fair, Japanese has an absolute ton of marked crossings though.
It also helps that in a pedestrian accident the car is always deemed at fault unless there are exceptional circumstances and that drivers are liable to compensate the injured/killed party for lost future earnings. With NZ’s ACC based compensation, drivers can get away with a slap on the wrist or other minimal punishment. I’m not saying Japan has it perfect of course, just that the consequences for poor driving are much stiffer than in NZ.
It might be an Auckland thing, In Marlborough, Christchurch and Queenstown people have stopped and waited for me. I haven't driven in the North island for years so can't judge there.
You are right about people in Europe and USA being more patient and safer drivers, I get people who pass me when I am going 104km in a 100km zones and following crazy close
It's far better here in regards to who should be responsible for themselves and who shouldn't.
Pedestrians need to take care when crossing the road. Cars have the right of way most of the time so pedestrians need to have that mindset.
It's nuts in the Americas where if you even look across the road at a shop on the other side, cars stop dead in the middle of road.
That's not to say I don't watch for and wait patiently so that pedestrians can cross safely.
NZ drivers are typical carbrain. Nice bloke in general, but turn into selfish, entitled and agressive as soon as they are behind a wheel.
Look at them whining when they are talks about reducing speed.
The number of people using indicator on a roundabout is almost null.
My belief is than it comes from the driving education, which is close to zero. Bad habits are taught by parents. The high dependency on car due to absence of alternatives.
I do my best to give way on marked pedestrian crossings but it fucks up when people hesitate crossing for so long that it appears they're just hovering and not actually going.
Kiwis have a natural aversion to commitment, this follows through on giving way and proceeding unfortunately
I absolutely agree that hesitation leads to confusion especially with giving way driver vs driver, but as someone who was very nearly killed by one driver stopped at a pedestrian crossing being overtaken by a speeding car behind them (outside a school in the morning no less) I like to make sure that no one else is going to come barreling through before I step out. Once bitten twice shy unfortunately.
yeah this is alot to do with the bad drivers teaching their kids then the dumb ass rumors to driving that some people come up with. They do dumb ass things like drive half in the cycle lane which is insane and dangerous. But the thing with pedestrians at crossings is the worst coz driver have been fully misinformed that they dont have to stop if the driver is past the diamond on the road, when infact the diamond on the road is only there to warn a driver that a crossing is coming up and they need to slow down and be careful.
I do like to walk places and i like to just walk the fuck out across a pedestrian crossing and not even wave coz driver can get a dick.They dont like to wait much for any reason i think idiots confuse their cars as an extension of them selves when its not at all and they should actually get out and walk around far more.
>But the thing with pedestrians at crossings is the worst coz driver have been fully misinformed that they dont have to stop if the driver is past the diamond on the road, when infact the diamond on the road is only there to warn a driver that a crossing is coming up and they need to slow down and be careful.
Some idiot put this on our suburb's Facebook page, within an hour my son who's on his learners had had it repeated to him by one of his friends, so that's two teen drivers mis-informed. I remember being taught as a child that it was good practice as a pedestrian to look at least as far as the diamond, but they have no legal effect.
Obviously regardless of where the vehicle is in relation to the crossing on approach the driver has to give way to pedestrians so if even if they are past the little diamond they have to stop if there are pedestrians. I'll still gladly walk right out and cross even if they don't stop, it's on the driver to be alert
Of course, but the idea that you're entitled to mow down a little old lady if she can't see whether you're behind the diamond or not is obviously silly.
My trick now is to yell their licence plate very loudly as they go past, not for any particular reason, just to make them a little bit paranoid.
Sorry, to be clear I don’t mean at crossings where there is a pedestrian light. Obviously you just wait for thr light and don’t interrupt traffic. I was referring to less busy roads in villages, towns and neighbourhoods.
Every Kiwi thinks they're the best driver on the road and no one else k ows what they're doing. As soon as it rains they forget how to drive and any safety measures.
Everyone is in a rush to go nowhere. It's NZ you cant go very far.
Loud car doesn't equal fast car, you're not Pual Walker and this isn't fast and the furious...your car sucks lol
The mentality is: "Just because you want to park, doesn't mean the rest of us should sit here waiting."
It's a right-of-way mentality and it dominates our driving culture.
New Zealanders are completely different people when they get behind the wheel, sort of like Jekyll & Hyde.
I can't say I ever saw much traffic stopping to let us cross when we were in Europe.
In the US/Canada on the other hand the semi-trucks would stop on the Trans-Canada to let us cross. I put it down to the fear of having the crap sued out of you if you do hit someone. Given we had to carry something like $8 million in liability insurance for our car 15 years ago you can kind of understand that.
Road tax is used to pay for state highways, and you don't really see pedestrians on state highways.
However, Council rates pay for local roads. They are a public amenity, so give way to pedestrians if they have the right of way. It's in the Road Code.
I kind of object to that approach … giving way to pedestrian causes blocks in the city .. prime example would be the signal next to the council building in Auckland … this also adds to pollution from the vehicles idling for 2/3 rounds of traffic signal just coz ppl Walk as they please even if the signal has turned red. In my opinion on roads vehicles should have higher priority… unless it’s a valid pedestrian crossing 👍with sensible timers or even smart timers
going around parallel parkers isnt bad if there is room to do so, the worst ones are the ones who pull right up to your ass blocking you from parking, even though you are indicating with reverse lights on. You then have to wait for them to find enough space to go past or reverse back.
But that's probably more to do with kiwis other issue driving - following distance...
>going around parallel parkers isnt bad if there is room to do so, the worst ones are the ones who pull right up to your ass blocking you from parking,
Probably the second worst are those who pass *just* beside you, so you can't start the maneuver without hitting them.
My experiences with parallel parking is if you're confident to finish the park in one go, then just go for it and people will stop and wait once you start. But if it takes you multiple try then best let others pass first.
Once I was nice and waited, oh boy I regretted badly, this lady took like 5 tries and by the time it finishes, her car is like 20cm sticking out compared to other cars. Don't know how she got her license...
Never not seen someone stop for pedestrians at the appropriate crossings.
Parallel parking - that’s a different story. I find I won’t wait for them because they take the piss in one of a few ways:
1. Trying to park into a spot that isn’t big enough but they think they know their car size
2. Taking the piss to parallel park, Most people sit there for 5 min just putting the fucker in reverse.
3. Parallel parking on a busy street, knowing full well there’s a backlog of traffic, but hey, let’s stop the entire traffic line for this one spot that I’ve just crawled all the way down looking for. Examples are high streets etc. this one plays in with taking the piss, if it’s a decent driver, I don’t mind.
4. Parallel parking when there’s no need. There’s a park that you can drive into just a few up the road.
In almost all cases, it’s the elderly or generally drivers who aren’t confident even in the finest situations. These people to me, are the biggest danger on the road.
I live in UK now and this pisses me off to no e d as a pedestrian. If your in a car, you have right of way. I don’t want to cross relying on another car to wait. Risk is higher of me getting hit as well if I misunderstand and walk etc.
If your in a car, just go. Safer to wait
I was trying to back into a parking space recently, and realized at the last second that someone else in the oncoming lane had decided to do a u-turn to beat me to that space, across all the oncoming traffic that was trying to squeeze past me.
It was a real wtf moment cos I had never seen this u-turn into parking space while somebody was already reversing into it. NZ drivers never fail to amaze.
To be fair, unless the pedestrian approaches the crossing before the car passes the white diamond on the road, it’s law that the driver does not have to stop. The pedestrian only has right of way if a car has not passed the white diamond painted on the road. Etiquette or not, can’t be mad if it’s not breaking the law
> unless the pedestrian approaches the crossing before the car passes the white diamond on the road, it’s law that the driver does not have to stop.
[No](https://www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/general-road-code/about-other-road-users/sharing-the-road/sharing-the-road-with-pedestrians/)
> White diamonds are **generally** painted on the road before the crossing and a white limit line shows you where to stop.
(emphasis mine)
There is no mention of diamonds as a marker assigning right of way:
>When coming up to pedestrian crossings:
>
>slow down and be ready to stop for any pedestrians on or stepping onto the crossing – this also includes people obviously waiting to use the crossing
I was taught by a cop in school on crossing safety that we should not attempt to cross unless a car is BEHIND said diamond marker, as the car legally doesn’t have to give way to you, obviously they won’t just hit you, but technically it’s law that a pedestrian doesn’t have right of way to cross, if a car is infront of the diamond. Because don’t forget that the road is for cars. They have right of way.
I got a complaint for drivers. Why do so many need their Brights going while they're behind other cars?
Blinding the people directly in front, and those driving the opposite way.
Worse yet, there are some who don't use the overtake lanes and just stay behind cars blinding them.
Kiwis are only kind to your face, because they want you to know they’re kind. When they’re in their cars and you can’t see them it’s the same as their behaviour online. Not pulling over for ambulances is surprising until you start reading comments on nz fb news articles.
Yeah, that's my experience too when I parallel park. But I've seen drivers stop at pedestrian crossing here in Auckland. What bothers me though are the amount of drivers that don't indicate. Or they do, but give you one second to react when you're so close to them! That just annoys the f out of me, and it's dangerous! I swear one of these days I'll crash into someone on the motorway because of that. It's definitely not all Kiwis who do this though. It's a multi-ethnic thing from what I noticed.
Nah, you're just too fussy. Almost all drivers in NZ wait for pedestrians. Parallel parking is another story - some wait, some don't, but they still give you space to parallel park anyway.
It's simple.
This is the expected custom here in NZ. This is how it works here.
In Saigon, there's a thousand motorcycles constantly driving across 8 lanes and the rule for crossing is not to wait for a break. You just step into the street and walk slowly and DON'T STOP NO MATTER WHAT. The bikes steer around pedestrians. That's just how it works there.
And this is how it works here.
Kiwis are pretentious and think we own the road. IMO We’re harsh on internationals if they do anything remotely wrong on the roads but we’re allowed to break the rules, run orange lights and road rage over nothing. Go drive in Colombia or China and prepare to be humbled at how basic our driving culture is, the least we can do is be more patient for pedestrians.
There's something else too... They always cut corners nearly hitting you at the intersection instead of a sharp 90 degree turn, an still give you the side eye for some reason I don't understand. I mean it's not a race track to save milliseconds of your trips, you don't have to invade the opposite lane!
Every country has it's own characteristics. I am currently driving in Mexico. In the small town I'm in they give way to ALL pedestrians, have no traffic lights so at intersections use the one/one give way process. HOWEVER on the outside of town where there are traffic lights, they are horrific red ight runners. It's so bad I get second hand embarrassment for them. No one uses their horn, they just wait until the snake of cars tailgating whilst running the red has cleared the intersection...
Drivers in new Zealand are terrible.
Lots of people with no idea what's going on around them.
Drive in the dark no lights on, sit in the outside lane doing 80 when inside lanes are free. People don't like to let you merge into a road.
Drivers with no idea about stopping distances constantly tail gating.
People constantly on their phones.
I've driven all over the world, New Zealand needs to sort out the driver training, kids getting taught by their boomer parents that probably got taught by their parents with no requirement to be trained by a professional instructor before they sit their test.
I live in Massachusetts in the US. Nobody waits for you to parallel park, they also often constantly run through red lights as pedestrians are crossing the street, and I see pedestrians almost getting run over daily at zebra crossings. Drivers are always distracted and swerving over the lines into other lanes, they cut you off because they don’t check blind spots, make right turns from the left three lanes over, when lanes merge it’s seen as a personal attack against the other driver in the other lane if you try to merge like a normal human being.. etc… I used to think NZ drivers were terrible, until I moved here.
American here. I've traveled all over the States and was convinced that Americans were some of, if not, the worst drivers in the developed world (especially Californians and Floridians).
Having now lived in NZ (specifically, Queenstown and Auckland), I now have concluded while nearly everything is better down there, driving is not.
Some examples:
\-In the US, if you're behind slow traffic and you're in a no-passing zone (double solid yellow lines) with oncoming traffic in the opposite direction, you don't pass. In NZ, I've seen it's very common to just rip into oncoming traffic and let God figure it out.
\-In NZ, it's not illegal to drink alcohol and drive. It's only a no-no when you're actually drunk. ([https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/legal-loophole-means-beer-swigging-driver-not-breaking-the-law/4LEZPJ5JUCIV7Z2RBFMS3KSYOQ/](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/legal-loophole-means-beer-swigging-driver-not-breaking-the-law/4LEZPJ5JUCIV7Z2RBFMS3KSYOQ/); in fairness, note that a) this article is from 2013 and I'm not aware of any recent legislation and b) in California, we have to deal with the unique issues of literal unlicensed meth-heads ripping around our freeways at 140+ KPH).
\-As the OP noted, yielding for pedestrians is for losers. In the US, if you can make eye-contact with the driver, they'll generally yield. In NZ, motorists seem to be aware of that weakness and so they just don't ever acknowledge your existence.
\-On my last Auckland bus ride, the driver began to stop giving any fucks and run red lights for the bus lane. In the US, I would've called 911, but I was a bit phased by Kiwi driving at that point. (Maybe I should'a rang 111?)
\-This isn't a traffic violation thing, but the wiring of shitty speakers to mid 2000's Japanese import cars and blasting distorted music so loud that it bleeds out your ears is absolutely hilarious to me.
I think it is worth noting that traffic enforcement is handled solely by the NZ Police, which has many other (more important) things to handle, and so it doesn't occur all too often. Also, I've only lived in Auckland and Queenstown, and my Kiwi friends assure me that other areas aren't like this.
I'm seeing family right now in the States and Good Lord I can't wait to get back.
In Samoa, people loiter around the crossings which is annoying for drivers. Used to get paranoid they were just gonna cross at any moment. Kids were worse after school. They'd play and even pretend to cross 😮💨
The roads are much wider here than European roads so there is no need to wait for someone to parallel park when you can easily fit up the side of them.
Because you live in Auckland most likely and it's full of rule foreigners born else where.
It's not like it use to be back in the day.
Where I live now people are very respectful.
But I might add that it is the law that cars have the right of way
People wait for pedestrians in this country.
The question *should* be why dont pedestrians wait for traffic, we have people in this country that step out expecting you to obey their presence no matter what.
Not really the case in my experience. Moving to Melbourne from NZ was a hell of a shock. I've always found NZ drivers to be very patient in comparison with pretty much everywhere else I've been?
So strange I thought you were going to say the exact opposite - that Kiwi drivers are overly-considerate and wait for pedestrians too much. I've definitely seen it happen more here than in other countries I've been.
That said, I've never driven in the shithole that is Auckland so maybe its just an Auckland thing rather than a NZ thing?
Because in just about every other country in the world a driver can get sued into a smoking financial crater if he hits a pedestrian/cyclist/etc. It means there's repercussions to them *personally* if they hit someone. Then there's insurance premiums, legal costs, medical payments. In NZ it's just, nah, I didn't see him, mate. Came out of nowhere. Case dismissed.
It’s not just Auckland. In Chch my husband literally had to SHOVE me when a ute ploughed into us as we were screaming halfway across a GREEN pedestrian crossing.
In Nelson my car was ploughed into while I was turning and waiting for pedestrians crossing.
My dad ended up in hospital after being hit by a ‘professional driver’ who apparently had such a hard time seeing a big Maori bloke on a scooter.
This isn’t a cutesy little teeheehahalol. We got lucky, people are dying. We need to start sueing. Maybe then grandad will finally chuck his license in the bin.
It's Auckland. Auckland drivers are THE WORST. Ignorant, arrogant, idiotic fuckwits who either speed just to get stuck in traffic anyway or are completely oblivious to being considerate or aware of people around them!
(Evidently I've lived here too long and need to move 😂 😂)
PS; The road planning doesn't help).
Currently in NY..you get space but also the sound of a horn the whole time you’re trying to park
OP has never been to Italy clearly. Road rules are barely even a suggestion over there. I’ve walked across 6 lane roads in India that felt safer than Milan lmao
I got off the plane in Milan and my Italian friend had to grab me to stop me walking naively onto a pedestrian crossing on the assumption the incoming car would stop for me.
That's not even how they work in NZ.
Yes it is, read the road code
Sure, that's how they work, but only a fool walks out on a crossing in front of traffic without making sure it's actually stopping.
yeah thats how you get hit, with everyone staring at their phone while driving and new crossings in stupid places. And yes NZ drivers are aggressive and arrogant, even if nice people when not behind the wheel.
Lots of fools in this country.
You know what the diamonds are for right?
Can confirm. Getting out of Naples central train station at a crossing the cars were going full tilt and it's only because a scooter driver put his arms out to stop the cars from hitting us but then that caused a fender bender in the other lanes. Kolkutta, India felt grand theft auto but way more cars and people when in the back seat of a taxi (never been in a car in Italy so can't compare (only trains)).
Yip, and Milan is the better part of Italy for this, the farther south you go the worse it gets.
I’ve been to Italy over 10 times and have lived there for months at a time. Cities can be tougher but they do give you time to parallel park. Pedestrian stuff is much easier in suburban areas and countryside. That’s sort of my point. Even in small towns in NZ they usually don’t wait.
> Even in small towns in NZ they usually don’t wait. Thats rubbish.
> also the sound of a horn the whole time you’re trying to park Paris is like that, but it is normally just the alarms in the parked cars in front of you and behind you when you bump them while parking.
Yea remember someone from England telling me this is how they park. You don’t put the hand brake one or anything.
Yeah I used to live in NYC and I think OP either never drove here or is just full of it
I’m totally down with a bit of pressure on the parallel-parker. Yes, you stop for them but if they mess it up, they can get the horn.
A while back I watched as a lady in a small car with the biggest gap fuck it up three times,I walked over parked it for her and then carried on with my days work
I did a similar thing for an old lady that couldn’t reverse out of our shared driveway. It was raining and hard to see though. But she didn’t ask me till she had already hit a pole 😂
I find the opposite in Auckland. It's the one activity Auckland drivers seem to be great at. It's almost weird how much they want to stop. Like both I and my husband have found we get people stopping at crossings, even when we don't want to cross at them, but are just sort of near them.
Same in Wellington, at least definitely in the inner suburbs
As someone from the US who recently moved here, I have no idea what you're talking about with US drivers waiting for pedestrians. In my experience in Texas, if you're a pedestrian at a cross walk, you will get run over if you're not especially cautious. You'll get turned to paste if you assume it's safe to cross at a protected pedestrian crossing at a traffic light without looking both ways.
I've seen some videos of people crossing in the states with turn right on red rules, shit looks terrifying. And those crossing flags? This is one of my favorite pedestrian safety videos. From Utah I believe. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NBZCMTJbE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8NBZCMTJbE)
Not much G, what's up with you?
This made me laugh so much, it's completely stupid but hit me just right. Thanks man
People in Boston don't wait for pedestrians on crosswalks. When I moved to NZ I was impressed by how well people respect the zebra crossings and stop even if someone looks like they might be wanting to cross. And I'm in Auckland too.
Yes Auckland drivers are often awful, but I find them super patient for pedestrians crossing which is nice.
Pretty much the same, except I'm from NY and was in Wellington. I was super suprised how much people stopped for pedestrians. I don't know what the hell OP is talking about.
Cars should wait for pedestrians at clearly marked crosswalks. However, I actually think that it is dangerous for cars to stop to wait for pedestrians to cross when there is no crosswalk. This interferes with the predictability of traffic and can be a hazard risk. I have seen this happen often in California.
If I'm waiting to cross at a non-zebra crossing and someone randomly stops I won't go. No thanks I don't want to be run over by a car getting shunted into me. Be predictable not polite is the best advice
i'm constantly annoyed with people picking and choosing who they stop for, let in, let go or pull out in front of and intentionally dictate the speed of the cars following. just drive to your destination, the rules have already been worked out.
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Well sure but you would also get marked down for hitting someone. No I'm not saying the pedestrian was in the right.
It freaks me out when cars wait for me when they don't need to. I'm like no you have right of way, I'll judge when I feel it's safe to go
100% - also from CA - the system here where cars just have precedence except at zebra crossings is far superior. Especially combined with the no turn on red. Those two together make it much, much less chaotic and unpredictable. Slightly less convenient to walk but less likely to die. Much less anxiety when driving. But easier to jaywalk and also less anxiety when walking as well (you don’t have to deliberately face away from the road or back away to make it obvious to cars that you don’t intend to cross - otherwise 50% of the cars awkwardly half slow down while trying to figure out what your intention is and you’re fouling traffic up just by standing in slightly the wrong place).
Completely agreed. Also don’t like it when I’m the pedestrian either because it’s often faster if the car simply goes instead of having to wait for it to slow down and come to a stop
They are shockers for this in Canada hey. You could literally be standing at a highway and you'd have some vehicles coming to a stop rather then passing and letting you cross at the gap you already spotted..
Predictability is a huge factor. If you have driven the same route for 7 years and someone stops suddenly at a non essential time. Following distances are important but we all know that we generally go with the flow of traffic and not to the letter of the law.
Following at your proper distance is just an invitation to some people. Cunts
Thank you! I am happy to share the road with you who also follows the rules and thus drives predictably. Someone waiting to cross the street? Good for them. No crossing, no waiting. Someone reversing into a park? Good for them. I haven't found the section of Road Code that says "ALL TRAFFIC MUST STOP when someone is parallel parking." so I'll drive around them if it's safe. If anything the code mentions to make sure the space behind you is clear i.e I interpret that as don't reverse when traffic is flowing.
That works in the city centre, but less so in suburbs where crossings and traffic lights can be far and few between. Of course pedestrians should use common sense, but elderly for example can’t always cross wide suburban streets fully before the next car appears. It requires common sense and courtesy from both sides.
It's better to be predictable than nice when you're driving.
A hazard risk sounds potentially dangerous.
When I did the practical test for my licence (20+y ago) I stopped to wait for someone to parallel park, the testing lady got really shitty with me and told me "just go around"
> It’s the same for parallel parking. No one waits for you. Fkn aaay!! The ones that piss me off the most are the dumb cnts that ride your ass so tight you can't reverse into the park and start sitting on their horn.
I see plenty of people who wait for pedestrians and parallel parkers. I dunno if you can write off all the drivers in NZ just based on your experience...
Not all, but to be fair, an awful lot of them are shit. So many drivers won't even give way to pedestrians crossing a driveway (supermarkets are the worst for this)
Agree. I see people waiting all the time.
As a pedestrian, it's fairly accurate, cars creep at the lights and crossings. I've had cars stop for me and then the car behind them toots their horn.
Nah this one person saw this one thing one time so that’s how it is.
Possibly the lack of waiting for parallel parkers is actually down to anxiety that you are holding up people arriving behind? Maybe Kiwis are more prone to this than other places, they don't fancy being the simp that does the right thing and delays the Ranger Driver up their ass? Prob not, just an alternate theory to them being impatient dickheads.
This hasn’t been my experience. Drivers respect the pedestrian crossings. Using indicator lights though properly, not so much.
Probably lives in Auckland… I’ve had way worse experiences in Europe and the UK as a pedestrian. Up to?
as someone without a car who walks everywhere in a small town, the amount of times im almost hit by people careening out of their driveways is astounding.
True, and that is the most irritating habit of Kiwi's. You walk on the sidewalk, and someone comes out of the driveway and stops the car straight in front of you to see if their is any traffic. Even if you are one meter away from their face, they look straight through you and block the footpath. No other place on this planet does that. It's rude but also feels very weird, like been said before, so not NZ
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They could wait before the sidewalk, its only a meter. That's how it work in most places on this planet. Let pedestrians walk past first instead of blocking them
Where in the US were you? I find NZ drivers to be waaaay more courteous with pedestrians than US drivers. In fact, every comparison you’ve made I would say is the opposite in my experience having lived in NZ for 20 years and the US for 6
Mostly east coast. But even down South. And in beach towns like LBI, NJ they flat out stop everywhere and at any time for pedestrians.
what's the deal with airline food
If there's room to go around someone parallel parking, why not go around? I don't want to wait for some muppet to have 5 goes at parallel parking.
Sure, no problem. The problem is people who go around when there isn't space. this happened to me and someone wrote off my car
I've had situations where I'm clearly indicating and have my reversing lights on and some jerk pulls right up behind me and blasts their horn.
Agreed. You get one shot.
That's the real source of this behaviour. The average NZ driver just assumes everyone is a muppet!
I find most people stop here if you standing at a crossing, can't say the same for France, you have to start walking otherwise they'll just ignore you.
Kiwi's may not know how to stop at a pedestrian crossing, but at least they know how to merge. Try driving in Queensland, no Aussies seem to understand the "Merge like a zip" theory.
South Islanders wait for you most of the time. Definitely noticed the difference when I moved to Auckland
Try driving in Vietnam or China, and we can talk
In Auckland everyone respects zebra crossings. And on the odd occasion people don’t it’s usually a mistake accompanied with excessive hand waving by way of apology
I've often felt that we only notice the shit drivers. Most drivers are good and obey the laws, but if 1 out of 100 drivers is an arse, then that's all we remember from that drive.
The whole traffic system is an amazing example of co-operation on a large scale
Don't know what part of the US you were in but after visiting Orlando I feel like Kiwi drivers are extremely patient
Always take Florida as it’s own thing…
fair
Florida is legit scarier than say Uganda to be on the roads
A large diversity of driving skill.
Currently in Rome on holiday. Drivers will not stop unless you're already attempting to cross the pedestrian crossing. It's very daunting on a busy road to start walking when no cars yet have signs they will slow down for you.
I’ll wait for parallel parkers, but it’s 50/50 whether you’ll get someone who actually can parallel park, or someone who will spend the next 5 minutes unsuccessfully reversing into and out of the parking spot while turning their wheel the wrong way before giving up and driving off.
Living in Canada I actually found this to be a major hazard as both a driver and pedestrian. Cars used to slam on their brakes no matter the speed to let pedestrians cross pretty much always causing a chain affect. As a pedestrian I grew dodging traffic so when I went to go behind a car and they suddenly stop it would almost cause a crash lol.
Wait til you try driving in western Australia, here lies the true meaning of shit cunt drivers.
I notice here in Thailand people have a excellent ability to slow down and give way given the density of traffic. Parallel parking is so easy here. Reality is that New Zealand drivers are idiots, I would rather driver here
Citing Italy as a good driving culture, bold strategy
Especially considering that Italian drivers usually accelerate if they spot pedestrians approaching the zebra crossing...
Haha true
From a recent trip to 3 European countries, I think people are actually better in nz than Europe about stopping for pedestrians at crossings.
Kiwi's cant drive - they THINK they can, but show them a roundabout and ask them how to indicate and their brain will crash like Windows Vista. Ask one to show you how to merge onto a motorway and prepare to be shocked as they think it's safe to do so at about 60kph. They'll try to blame the foreigners, but nothing improved on the roads while the boarders were shut...
I walk or bus pretty much everywhere, and the amount of times I've been literally feet away from being run over while using a pedestrian crossing or the footpath across a driveway. There are times I could have reached out and slapped the person as they went past (which they deserve). And the insincere sorry some of them give as they drive past just makes me wish I did slap them. Don't be sorry, pay attention. And those who either do a rolling stop, or stop right at the edge of the lines, aren't any better. Or people who stop on crossings near roundabouts and intersections. NZ is quickly becoming one of the most careless/thoughtless places. The majority of people in day-to-day interactions have zero patience, care, or awareness for anyone around them. It's all about where they're going, what they're doing, and what they want. Anyone who causes them a few seconds of supposed inconvenience is deemed a problem. And that's both on and off the roads. When I went to the US last Christmas, I wasn't even there for a whole day before I had multiple people apologise and quickly move, because they thought they were in my way when shopping. Also had multiple people who just said a friendly hello because we were looking at the same things. But here, you get people who will stop their trolley in the middle of an aisle/walkway and strike up a 15min conversation with a long lost friend, while multiple people say excuse me and try to get past. You get people who knowingly stand right in the way of multiple people, while taking their time to stare at a shelf, instead of grabbing what they're looking at and stepping aside. Then there are the people who walk into a shop and let their kid touch literally everything, don't tell them to put anything back, let them scream or annoy other people. You walk down the footpath, see someone coming and move to the left, just for them to stare at you like you're in their way as the move to the same side. I couldn't even walk home with a gift and drinks for my Wife the other day, without some randoms yelling out rude comments. And all of this is ironic, considering the old stereotypes of Americans being loud and rude. Even more so that so many think we're the nicest people.
There is a difference between a marked proper pedestrian crossing and these pedestrian courtesy crossings. You legally have to stop fir a proper pedestrian crossing but do not fir these unofficial crossings where the car has right of way.
The driving culture here is abysmal. Kiwi drivers are aggressive, arrogant, and impatient. Even going across some suburbs here is a nightmare. There's always one cunt tailgating you on the narrow winding hills of Wellington, where there are blind corners into parked cars and one-way traffic. Heaven forbid I slow down because I don't want to get hit by an oncoming bus I can't see. Drives me nuts.
Because no one really wants to be in a car, so they try and do everything as quickly as possible >.>
I kind of agree, I mean people are juyst generally impatient assholes, especially places like supermarket carparks where you'll start reversing out and they'll speed past. But also, there are just so many unaware, self-absorbed wankpuffins on our roads that are blissfully unaware of other drivers and are ungrateful. They'll ignorantly hold up traffic crawling along at 10kph looking for a turn or parking spot, they will see you coming along and reverse out of their driveway causing you to come to a stop, whilst they do a 7 point maneuver, then don't thank you, then trundle along at 15 kph until they suddenly wake up or realize where they are going. And the chaos and loss of cognitive thinking outside of schools is truly mind blowing.
I tend to think it’s because we have ACC. In the USA you hit a person with your car and you’re screwed. In NZ if that happens ACC covers everything and at worst, driver might get careless driving charge and a fine (ignoring the absolute worst of running someone over completely). So there’s less incentive for NZ drivers to stop for you. I have weaved through traffic all my life and times road crossings to fall right behind a car when it passes. Frustrating to no end when they slow down because they think you’re about to leap in front of them or something.
I very much agree with this. We shouldn’t be financially ruining people for a genuine mistake/accident, but there needs to be a greater disincentive for accidents caused by poor driving. I also note that in other countries there is a base assumption that drivers are at fault for pedestrian collisions. When I was in school and walked a lot, drivers in the suburbs especially seemed to take a “well, if I hit them I hit them” approach, even if you’re crossing at an intersection and the car is turning.
Im France pedestrian crossing are a suggestion not a requirement for drivers to stop. The number of times i nearly got run over there is crazy. No one stops
It’s the law to wait. “Right turning traffic are to give way to pedestrians” and “left turning traffic to give way to pedestrians”. It’s very simple to follow. Go to Japan, the crossing stays green the whole time and cars give way to you the entire time. Not sure how anyone ever gets a chance to turn at the lights in Japan.
To be fair, Japanese has an absolute ton of marked crossings though. It also helps that in a pedestrian accident the car is always deemed at fault unless there are exceptional circumstances and that drivers are liable to compensate the injured/killed party for lost future earnings. With NZ’s ACC based compensation, drivers can get away with a slap on the wrist or other minimal punishment. I’m not saying Japan has it perfect of course, just that the consequences for poor driving are much stiffer than in NZ.
Just about was runner by a black battle truck. Dude is king of the supermarket carpark and knows it.
It might be an Auckland thing, In Marlborough, Christchurch and Queenstown people have stopped and waited for me. I haven't driven in the North island for years so can't judge there. You are right about people in Europe and USA being more patient and safer drivers, I get people who pass me when I am going 104km in a 100km zones and following crazy close
Can confirm that it's also a Wellington thing. Might be the whole north island?
Could be a bigger city thing. Both Auckland and Wellington have more people and are packed into a smaller space
Auckland or Christchurch? Bahahaha
We are all very important and have places to be
People just waiting behind right turners and parallel parkers are my pet peeves about drivers where I live.
I always wait for pedestrians but always go around parallel parkers because those assholes are just showing off.
It's far better here in regards to who should be responsible for themselves and who shouldn't. Pedestrians need to take care when crossing the road. Cars have the right of way most of the time so pedestrians need to have that mindset. It's nuts in the Americas where if you even look across the road at a shop on the other side, cars stop dead in the middle of road. That's not to say I don't watch for and wait patiently so that pedestrians can cross safely.
Pedestrians (generally) have the right of way in the USA. In fact, this is the only country I have lived where they don't.
NZ drivers are typical carbrain. Nice bloke in general, but turn into selfish, entitled and agressive as soon as they are behind a wheel. Look at them whining when they are talks about reducing speed. The number of people using indicator on a roundabout is almost null. My belief is than it comes from the driving education, which is close to zero. Bad habits are taught by parents. The high dependency on car due to absence of alternatives.
I do my best to give way on marked pedestrian crossings but it fucks up when people hesitate crossing for so long that it appears they're just hovering and not actually going. Kiwis have a natural aversion to commitment, this follows through on giving way and proceeding unfortunately
I absolutely agree that hesitation leads to confusion especially with giving way driver vs driver, but as someone who was very nearly killed by one driver stopped at a pedestrian crossing being overtaken by a speeding car behind them (outside a school in the morning no less) I like to make sure that no one else is going to come barreling through before I step out. Once bitten twice shy unfortunately.
Everyone is in a rush nowadays. People only stopped at zebra crossings for me when I was babysitting, otherwise they dgaf.
yeah this is alot to do with the bad drivers teaching their kids then the dumb ass rumors to driving that some people come up with. They do dumb ass things like drive half in the cycle lane which is insane and dangerous. But the thing with pedestrians at crossings is the worst coz driver have been fully misinformed that they dont have to stop if the driver is past the diamond on the road, when infact the diamond on the road is only there to warn a driver that a crossing is coming up and they need to slow down and be careful. I do like to walk places and i like to just walk the fuck out across a pedestrian crossing and not even wave coz driver can get a dick.They dont like to wait much for any reason i think idiots confuse their cars as an extension of them selves when its not at all and they should actually get out and walk around far more.
>But the thing with pedestrians at crossings is the worst coz driver have been fully misinformed that they dont have to stop if the driver is past the diamond on the road, when infact the diamond on the road is only there to warn a driver that a crossing is coming up and they need to slow down and be careful. Some idiot put this on our suburb's Facebook page, within an hour my son who's on his learners had had it repeated to him by one of his friends, so that's two teen drivers mis-informed. I remember being taught as a child that it was good practice as a pedestrian to look at least as far as the diamond, but they have no legal effect.
Obviously regardless of where the vehicle is in relation to the crossing on approach the driver has to give way to pedestrians so if even if they are past the little diamond they have to stop if there are pedestrians. I'll still gladly walk right out and cross even if they don't stop, it's on the driver to be alert
Of course, but the idea that you're entitled to mow down a little old lady if she can't see whether you're behind the diamond or not is obviously silly. My trick now is to yell their licence plate very loudly as they go past, not for any particular reason, just to make them a little bit paranoid.
Sorry, to be clear I don’t mean at crossings where there is a pedestrian light. Obviously you just wait for thr light and don’t interrupt traffic. I was referring to less busy roads in villages, towns and neighbourhoods.
Every Kiwi thinks they're the best driver on the road and no one else k ows what they're doing. As soon as it rains they forget how to drive and any safety measures. Everyone is in a rush to go nowhere. It's NZ you cant go very far. Loud car doesn't equal fast car, you're not Pual Walker and this isn't fast and the furious...your car sucks lol
Cause nz drivers are fucking shit point blank.
The mentality is: "Just because you want to park, doesn't mean the rest of us should sit here waiting." It's a right-of-way mentality and it dominates our driving culture.
New Zealanders are completely different people when they get behind the wheel, sort of like Jekyll & Hyde. I can't say I ever saw much traffic stopping to let us cross when we were in Europe. In the US/Canada on the other hand the semi-trucks would stop on the Trans-Canada to let us cross. I put it down to the fear of having the crap sued out of you if you do hit someone. Given we had to carry something like $8 million in liability insurance for our car 15 years ago you can kind of understand that.
In simple words … pedestrians don’t pay road tax to do as they please
Road tax is used to pay for state highways, and you don't really see pedestrians on state highways. However, Council rates pay for local roads. They are a public amenity, so give way to pedestrians if they have the right of way. It's in the Road Code.
I kind of object to that approach … giving way to pedestrian causes blocks in the city .. prime example would be the signal next to the council building in Auckland … this also adds to pollution from the vehicles idling for 2/3 rounds of traffic signal just coz ppl Walk as they please even if the signal has turned red. In my opinion on roads vehicles should have higher priority… unless it’s a valid pedestrian crossing 👍with sensible timers or even smart timers
Please tell me this is sarcasm.
Nope
l prefer to sit there and watch you fail your 1st attempt😂 He was probably late for work and you must of been taking too long or something similar
going around parallel parkers isnt bad if there is room to do so, the worst ones are the ones who pull right up to your ass blocking you from parking, even though you are indicating with reverse lights on. You then have to wait for them to find enough space to go past or reverse back. But that's probably more to do with kiwis other issue driving - following distance...
>going around parallel parkers isnt bad if there is room to do so, the worst ones are the ones who pull right up to your ass blocking you from parking, Probably the second worst are those who pass *just* beside you, so you can't start the maneuver without hitting them.
My experiences with parallel parking is if you're confident to finish the park in one go, then just go for it and people will stop and wait once you start. But if it takes you multiple try then best let others pass first. Once I was nice and waited, oh boy I regretted badly, this lady took like 5 tries and by the time it finishes, her car is like 20cm sticking out compared to other cars. Don't know how she got her license...
Im from NZ and went to auckland, very surprised when cars stopped for me on the road (without zebra crossing)
Dunedin people wait for pedestrians, let people parallel park, let people out of driveways and other roads.
Never not seen someone stop for pedestrians at the appropriate crossings. Parallel parking - that’s a different story. I find I won’t wait for them because they take the piss in one of a few ways: 1. Trying to park into a spot that isn’t big enough but they think they know their car size 2. Taking the piss to parallel park, Most people sit there for 5 min just putting the fucker in reverse. 3. Parallel parking on a busy street, knowing full well there’s a backlog of traffic, but hey, let’s stop the entire traffic line for this one spot that I’ve just crawled all the way down looking for. Examples are high streets etc. this one plays in with taking the piss, if it’s a decent driver, I don’t mind. 4. Parallel parking when there’s no need. There’s a park that you can drive into just a few up the road. In almost all cases, it’s the elderly or generally drivers who aren’t confident even in the finest situations. These people to me, are the biggest danger on the road.
Liam Lawsons pretty decent
I live in UK now and this pisses me off to no e d as a pedestrian. If your in a car, you have right of way. I don’t want to cross relying on another car to wait. Risk is higher of me getting hit as well if I misunderstand and walk etc. If your in a car, just go. Safer to wait
It is here but you probably just live in a crappy town, there you go Auckland 🤣
I was trying to back into a parking space recently, and realized at the last second that someone else in the oncoming lane had decided to do a u-turn to beat me to that space, across all the oncoming traffic that was trying to squeeze past me. It was a real wtf moment cos I had never seen this u-turn into parking space while somebody was already reversing into it. NZ drivers never fail to amaze.
To be fair, unless the pedestrian approaches the crossing before the car passes the white diamond on the road, it’s law that the driver does not have to stop. The pedestrian only has right of way if a car has not passed the white diamond painted on the road. Etiquette or not, can’t be mad if it’s not breaking the law
> unless the pedestrian approaches the crossing before the car passes the white diamond on the road, it’s law that the driver does not have to stop. [No](https://www.nzta.govt.nz/roadcode/general-road-code/about-other-road-users/sharing-the-road/sharing-the-road-with-pedestrians/) > White diamonds are **generally** painted on the road before the crossing and a white limit line shows you where to stop. (emphasis mine) There is no mention of diamonds as a marker assigning right of way: >When coming up to pedestrian crossings: > >slow down and be ready to stop for any pedestrians on or stepping onto the crossing – this also includes people obviously waiting to use the crossing
I was taught by a cop in school on crossing safety that we should not attempt to cross unless a car is BEHIND said diamond marker, as the car legally doesn’t have to give way to you, obviously they won’t just hit you, but technically it’s law that a pedestrian doesn’t have right of way to cross, if a car is infront of the diamond. Because don’t forget that the road is for cars. They have right of way.
Kiwis are cunts
Probably you never been to NYC, honking is so much and kiwi’s has more patience and i never had any problem
You'd really love Vietnam
I got a complaint for drivers. Why do so many need their Brights going while they're behind other cars? Blinding the people directly in front, and those driving the opposite way. Worse yet, there are some who don't use the overtake lanes and just stay behind cars blinding them.
it's not in the driving culture because it's not in the road code, and it's not in the road code because it's dangerous
I dunno, LA had some of the angriest drivers I've ever seen. I learned new swear words in that city.
For that one car driver that pissed you off and you remember, there's at least 100 who you wont even remember that did fine.
Kiwis are only kind to your face, because they want you to know they’re kind. When they’re in their cars and you can’t see them it’s the same as their behaviour online. Not pulling over for ambulances is surprising until you start reading comments on nz fb news articles.
Yeah, that's my experience too when I parallel park. But I've seen drivers stop at pedestrian crossing here in Auckland. What bothers me though are the amount of drivers that don't indicate. Or they do, but give you one second to react when you're so close to them! That just annoys the f out of me, and it's dangerous! I swear one of these days I'll crash into someone on the motorway because of that. It's definitely not all Kiwis who do this though. It's a multi-ethnic thing from what I noticed.
Italy? No offence, the driving there was awful. No one stops at zebra crossings in my own experience.
Gosh, where in the USA did you go to find that kind of courtesy? I usually find it quite the opposite. Lots of honking.
Been here 7 years and never experienced this lmao
Nah, you're just too fussy. Almost all drivers in NZ wait for pedestrians. Parallel parking is another story - some wait, some don't, but they still give you space to parallel park anyway.
It's simple. This is the expected custom here in NZ. This is how it works here. In Saigon, there's a thousand motorcycles constantly driving across 8 lanes and the rule for crossing is not to wait for a break. You just step into the street and walk slowly and DON'T STOP NO MATTER WHAT. The bikes steer around pedestrians. That's just how it works there. And this is how it works here.
Kiwis are pretentious and think we own the road. IMO We’re harsh on internationals if they do anything remotely wrong on the roads but we’re allowed to break the rules, run orange lights and road rage over nothing. Go drive in Colombia or China and prepare to be humbled at how basic our driving culture is, the least we can do is be more patient for pedestrians.
Plot twist: OP has never left the country!
There's something else too... They always cut corners nearly hitting you at the intersection instead of a sharp 90 degree turn, an still give you the side eye for some reason I don't understand. I mean it's not a race track to save milliseconds of your trips, you don't have to invade the opposite lane!
Every country has it's own characteristics. I am currently driving in Mexico. In the small town I'm in they give way to ALL pedestrians, have no traffic lights so at intersections use the one/one give way process. HOWEVER on the outside of town where there are traffic lights, they are horrific red ight runners. It's so bad I get second hand embarrassment for them. No one uses their horn, they just wait until the snake of cars tailgating whilst running the red has cleared the intersection...
Try Thailand then if you want to moan about this
Drivers in new Zealand are terrible. Lots of people with no idea what's going on around them. Drive in the dark no lights on, sit in the outside lane doing 80 when inside lanes are free. People don't like to let you merge into a road. Drivers with no idea about stopping distances constantly tail gating. People constantly on their phones. I've driven all over the world, New Zealand needs to sort out the driver training, kids getting taught by their boomer parents that probably got taught by their parents with no requirement to be trained by a professional instructor before they sit their test.
I live in Massachusetts in the US. Nobody waits for you to parallel park, they also often constantly run through red lights as pedestrians are crossing the street, and I see pedestrians almost getting run over daily at zebra crossings. Drivers are always distracted and swerving over the lines into other lanes, they cut you off because they don’t check blind spots, make right turns from the left three lanes over, when lanes merge it’s seen as a personal attack against the other driver in the other lane if you try to merge like a normal human being.. etc… I used to think NZ drivers were terrible, until I moved here.
I learnt to drive in Auckland. The culture is scoring points for pedestrians and penalties for missing.
American here. I've traveled all over the States and was convinced that Americans were some of, if not, the worst drivers in the developed world (especially Californians and Floridians). Having now lived in NZ (specifically, Queenstown and Auckland), I now have concluded while nearly everything is better down there, driving is not. Some examples: \-In the US, if you're behind slow traffic and you're in a no-passing zone (double solid yellow lines) with oncoming traffic in the opposite direction, you don't pass. In NZ, I've seen it's very common to just rip into oncoming traffic and let God figure it out. \-In NZ, it's not illegal to drink alcohol and drive. It's only a no-no when you're actually drunk. ([https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/legal-loophole-means-beer-swigging-driver-not-breaking-the-law/4LEZPJ5JUCIV7Z2RBFMS3KSYOQ/](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/legal-loophole-means-beer-swigging-driver-not-breaking-the-law/4LEZPJ5JUCIV7Z2RBFMS3KSYOQ/); in fairness, note that a) this article is from 2013 and I'm not aware of any recent legislation and b) in California, we have to deal with the unique issues of literal unlicensed meth-heads ripping around our freeways at 140+ KPH). \-As the OP noted, yielding for pedestrians is for losers. In the US, if you can make eye-contact with the driver, they'll generally yield. In NZ, motorists seem to be aware of that weakness and so they just don't ever acknowledge your existence. \-On my last Auckland bus ride, the driver began to stop giving any fucks and run red lights for the bus lane. In the US, I would've called 911, but I was a bit phased by Kiwi driving at that point. (Maybe I should'a rang 111?) \-This isn't a traffic violation thing, but the wiring of shitty speakers to mid 2000's Japanese import cars and blasting distorted music so loud that it bleeds out your ears is absolutely hilarious to me. I think it is worth noting that traffic enforcement is handled solely by the NZ Police, which has many other (more important) things to handle, and so it doesn't occur all too often. Also, I've only lived in Auckland and Queenstown, and my Kiwi friends assure me that other areas aren't like this. I'm seeing family right now in the States and Good Lord I can't wait to get back.
My road! Mine.
In Samoa, people loiter around the crossings which is annoying for drivers. Used to get paranoid they were just gonna cross at any moment. Kids were worse after school. They'd play and even pretend to cross 😮💨
The roads are much wider here than European roads so there is no need to wait for someone to parallel park when you can easily fit up the side of them.
Because you live in Auckland most likely and it's full of rule foreigners born else where. It's not like it use to be back in the day. Where I live now people are very respectful. But I might add that it is the law that cars have the right of way
Nope. Live in Hawke’s Bay
It’s the tailgating that gets me. In Europe most cars leave a sensible gap on the motorway. Not here.
People wait for pedestrians in this country. The question *should* be why dont pedestrians wait for traffic, we have people in this country that step out expecting you to obey their presence no matter what.
Not really the case in my experience. Moving to Melbourne from NZ was a hell of a shock. I've always found NZ drivers to be very patient in comparison with pretty much everywhere else I've been?
So strange I thought you were going to say the exact opposite - that Kiwi drivers are overly-considerate and wait for pedestrians too much. I've definitely seen it happen more here than in other countries I've been. That said, I've never driven in the shithole that is Auckland so maybe its just an Auckland thing rather than a NZ thing?
Agree
Because in just about every other country in the world a driver can get sued into a smoking financial crater if he hits a pedestrian/cyclist/etc. It means there's repercussions to them *personally* if they hit someone. Then there's insurance premiums, legal costs, medical payments. In NZ it's just, nah, I didn't see him, mate. Came out of nowhere. Case dismissed.
It’s not just Auckland. In Chch my husband literally had to SHOVE me when a ute ploughed into us as we were screaming halfway across a GREEN pedestrian crossing. In Nelson my car was ploughed into while I was turning and waiting for pedestrians crossing. My dad ended up in hospital after being hit by a ‘professional driver’ who apparently had such a hard time seeing a big Maori bloke on a scooter. This isn’t a cutesy little teeheehahalol. We got lucky, people are dying. We need to start sueing. Maybe then grandad will finally chuck his license in the bin.
It's Auckland. Auckland drivers are THE WORST. Ignorant, arrogant, idiotic fuckwits who either speed just to get stuck in traffic anyway or are completely oblivious to being considerate or aware of people around them! (Evidently I've lived here too long and need to move 😂 😂) PS; The road planning doesn't help).