Driving rules in New Zealand

Driving rules in New Zealand

Traffic rules in New ZealandExplanation of the give way rules, how intersections and roundabouts work, regulations about child restraints, speed limits, traffic lights etc. - for travellers driving a car in New Zealand!

Traffic rules around intersections

  • Be careful at intersections and always watch out if other cars also get a green light when you do.
  • You can’t turn left at red traffic lights as in some other countries.
  • A yellow traffic light means you MUST stop, unless you are so close that you can't stop safely.
  • A green signal means you can go, provided it is safe and - this is puzzling to many visitors - if you are turning right, you give way to vehicles coming towards you that are going straight through, or vehicles turning left, as they can equally have a green signal to do this!
  • Don’t confuse drivers with wrong signals on roundabouts. If going straight: only signal left before you leave the roundabout. If going left: signal left. If going right: signal right and then left before you leave the roundabout.

Roundabout

General give way regulations

  • If you are turning, give way to all traffic that is not turning.
  • Turn right rule

    If you are turning right and the opposing vehicle is turning left, you must give way.
  • Give way rules in New Zealand have changed on March 25 2012: they are the same as elsewhere now. If you see a weird rule about right turns then it's the old rule now out of effect.

Speed limits

  • Speed limits are usually 50 km/h in towns and 100 km/h on open roads and motorways. Some stretches of motorways will experiment with higher speeds from 2019 onwards.
  • Along construction sites the speed limit is usually only 30 km/h - sometimes these restrictions seem to come at random and no one adheres to the limit, but do so at your own risk.
  • Don’t hurry truck drivers, heavy vehicles have a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h.

General rules when driving

  • Always drive on the left side of the road. The most dangerous moments are when you start driving, when you leave a car park or when you approach a roundabout, especially when there is little traffic and when you’re tired.
  • Never park on the right-hand side of the road except in a one-way-street.

Parking

  • Seat belts are compulsory.
  • Careful overtaking on the left is permitted if there are two or more lanes in one direction.
  • No passing lanes are not completely off-limits, they can be crossed if it is safe enough, but for overtaking you need to have 100 metres of clear road ahead at any time.
  • It is generally not allowed to cut corners, however inviting the situation may be. Of course it's another question if road police would ever pull you over for that.
  • Use of hand-held mobile phones is not permitted, neither is reading text messages.
  • All children under seven years of age must use an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size (that can be a booster seat for taller children). Children aged seven must be secured in a restraint if one is available in the vehicle.

It's important to take these driving rules seriously, as nearly a third of all crashes in some South Island holiday destinations involve foreign drivers. Read more about this in Risks and dangers in New Zealand.
 
Source: see all the official driving rules in the Road Code from the New Zealand Transport Agency.