Day 31, 32 & 33 – A month in

So then, time flies when you are unemployed.  I guess that this is officially us at our 1 month marker.  We have managed to do quite a lot in this first month (although the blog might not reflect that very well) and we still have a lot more to do!

Tania and I made our way to the Mount the other day (25th June), another wonderfully sunny day.  Walking to the summit for a look, I had forgotten just how nice the views are from up there.

  (Picture: View from Mount Maunganui)

(Picture: Path leading down from the summit)

We also encountered some very friendly Fantails, either that or they were angry with us disturbing their peace.

 (Picture: Friendly Fantail)

After a couple of Shags we headed back homewards.

(Picture: Pied Shag)

At the Mount I also recorded a little message for those peeps back home, reminding them just how terrible a New Zealand Winter is:-

Later that afternoon, Aidan and I went for a cycle to the Matua Saltmarsh again.  This trip was cut short though when my handlebars came loose.

That night I bumped into Stewarts nephew, Neil (sp?) who succeeded in getting me very drunk.  Needless to say, Friday was pretty much a non-event.

On Saturday, Aidan and I went into town for a few bits and pieces.  Once again I encountered the bloody stupid Give Way rule that only appears to exist in New Zealand.

The rule pretty much amounts to:-

• If you are turning left at an intersection, give way to vehicles coming towards you that are turning right.

This would be fine if it was a clear-cut rule.  But it’s not.  For instance only some people appear to adhere to it.  Take the following example:-

Driving the blue-car, you need to give way to the red-truck.  The New Zealand Road Code also informs you:-

• Note: be aware of the traffic behind you. If you were in the blue car, vehicles travelling behind you may affect whether the truck can turn or not.

So you have to stop to give way to the truck but the vehicles behind you might carry on, therefore not allowing the truck to turn.

This is further clouded by the rule that you should always give way to the right:-

Yep, the red car has right of way in the above instance.  These rules I would have no problem with if everybody stuck to them.  Most people do not seem to care though and turn whenever they like, causing confusion and hesitation for all drivers.

The AA has a good article about this, highlighting the fact that there are 2560 intersection crashes a year in New Zealand and that this stupid rule could be contributing to many of them.  Quote:

“This has been known in official circles for 10 years, but all efforts - by the Minister of Transport Safety, the Ministry of Transport, the Land Transport Agency, Police, local government, the Institution of Professional Engineers, Cyclists Advocates Network, Living Streets Aotearoa and the AA - to change the rule have been voted down by a Cabinet concerned it would be too hard for the public to cope with.”

So are the drivers that are ignoring this rule merely taking it into their own hands to change the driving laws?  Are they all incomers to New Zealand that do not understand the rules?

Seeing as half the population seems to ignore the rules then I would vote that now is maybe the time to change them.

Rant Over.