There's a push for tired tourist drivers to be banned from hopping off a plane and getting straight behind the wheel.
Three tourists were seriously injured this week in three separate incidents after they arrived in the country, hired a vehicle and crashed it on the same day.
Clive Matthew-Wilson from the Dog and Lemon Guide says driving tired is as bad as driving drunk, and is calling for a 24-hour stand-down period for foreign drivers who have just entered the country.
"Large numbers of people are coming straight off of long plane trips, hopping into a rental vehicle and going out and killing someone.
"The reality is many rental companies are simply renting a vehicle to the first person who comes in the door and that's the equivalent of handing a child a loaded gun. The person who hands the gun is just as responsible as the person who pulls the trigger."
Mr Matthew-Wilson is pleased that the Government is planning to install median barriers.
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"But in the case of the high-risk roads such as the one the tourists drive down, it's got to be fast-tracked. Because the reality is, New Zealand's roading system is like a staircase without a hand rail. You make the simplest of mistakes and you're going to get hurt."
Newshub.
