Scoop  Politics

Time to close down rogue car rental firms, says campaigner

The government should set higher standards for rental vehicles, including appearance and safety, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson says:

"New Zealand must be the only country in the world where it takes a ruling by the censor to control a rogue rental company. Given this country’s reliance on tourists, it’s astonishing that there are no regulations compelling rental vehicles to meet reasonable standards of appearance. It’s even more astonishing that there are no requirements for rental vehicles to be safe in a collision."

"Many of New Zealand's cheap rental vehicles are a disgrace. They're old, unsafe and often crudely painted. The public has a right to expect rental vehicles to conform to reasonable standards. This includes the way these vehicles look and the way these vehicles behave in emergencies."

"Many of the ‘iconic’ vans advertised on the Wicked Campers' website lack most modern safety features, including Electronic Stability Control, and, on early versions, even airbags.”

Matthew-Wilson claims the government has a double standard over rental vehicles.

"As far as the government ministers are concerned, it's okay for Wicked Campers to hire out vans that may kill their occupants, provided these vans are free from offensive slogans."

Matthew-Wilson says young drivers, and older vehicles, feature frequently in tourist crashes.*

“Wicked Campers are promoting offensive and unsafe vehicles as fun and cool. This is simply wrong. It's even worse that the government lets them get away with it.”

For further information please contact dogandlemon.com:

England	+44 20 8123 7413
Australia	+61 2 8011 4764
New Zealand	+64 9 378 1476
or Clive Matthew-Wilson	+64 21 051 6670

Analysis of at-fault crashes in Otago and Southland[1]
Timing Mostly occurred during day time
Only 10% were during official holiday periods
Location Clustering of crashes around Queenstown, Cromwell, along SH94 to Milford, and SH6
No other vehicle involved Nearly two thirds were single vehicle crashes
Road factors A little under half were on straight sections of road
Road factors contributed to a fifth of these crashes
A third of these crashes hit a bank or went over an embankment
Speed zones Three quarters occurred in 100km/h zones
Driver age and sex At-fault drivers were mostly younger than 40 years
Two thirds were male
A larger number of overseas drivers aged 20 to 29 years old were at fault compared to New Zealand full licence drivers of the same age group

[1] Table summarised from Overseas drivers--part 1: Otago & Southland, Identifying themes within a Safe System framework of injury traffic crashes involving overseas drivers in New Zealand. Colin Morrison, Senior Analyst CAS, NZTA http://www.saferjourneys.govt.nz/assets/Overseas-Drivers-crash-analysis-to-advance-a-signature-project-part1-overview.pdf

Age of vehicles involved in injury crashes between 1 January 2013 - 5 December 2014 where the driver held an overseas licence[1]
Vehicle Age Count of Vehicles
0 25
1 78
2 42
3 27
4 20
5 23
6 37
7 53
8 52
9 55
10 49
11 25
12 39
13 34
14 35
15 25
16 41
17 67
18 76
19 56
20 40
21 25
22 24
23 21
24 7
25 5
26 3
27 1
30 1
31 1
43 1
54 1
Age not recorded 27
Total 1016

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