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."
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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.”
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
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