A travel company catering for Chinese tourists has dramatically cut its client crash rate through careful screening, on road training, and refusing to hire vehicles to those it deems unsafe to drive.
Kate Travel has brought 10,000 Chinese independent travellers to New Zealand since setting up in 2013.
Co-owner Kate Deng said in the first year of operations her clients had between 20 and 30 serious crashes, including at least three requiring helicopter rescues. But that dropped to just two crashes last summer "and they were not that serious".
Deng says on-road driver training for Chinese tourists helps them feel more confident.
GRANT MATTHEW/FAIRFAX NZ
Deng says on-road driver training for Chinese tourists helps them feel more confident.
Deng's staff questioned prospective drivers to gauge their level of experience, and sent them a short test covering road rules about speed, left turns and using roundabouts.
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* Tourists spend thousands on chauffeurs to avoid driving on New Zealand roads
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"You can have a driving licence for three to five years and hardly drive at all in China. We ask 'do you drive to work every day?'
About 5 per cent of customers were refused hire cars.
"Some of them are really angry, they say 'it's not your business'. But some take it really positively because we're looking after them really well."
Deng said she was also using a new company owned by a Chinese man who took visitors out for training drives and explained the road rules so they felt more confident behind the wheel.
"If they believe after a long time they can't drive, they will turn them away and send them back to us and we will book a bus."
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Other rental companies declined to rent vehicles to tourists if they were not up to speed with New Zealand's driving laws.
Hertz New Zealand manager Mark Righton said the company made sure clients were prepared to drive when they got to New Zealand and then made further assessments at the front counter.
Hertz employees could cancel a hire at their discretion, he said.
"All our employees have the authority to not rent it out. It could be anyone if there's any reason to think we shouldn't give them the key."
Go Rentals general manager James Dalglish estimated about 10 to 15 per cent of drivers screened before they got behind the wheel required further education.
Extra training "might even go as far as a practical driving test", he said.
"We take it pretty seriously. We have on several occasions not let a hire go ahead."
Rental Vehicle Association chief executive Barry Kidd said while rental car companies refused to hire vehicles to inexperienced drivers, there were no national figures available.
Kate Travel has brought 10,000 Chinese independent travellers to New Zealand since setting up in 2013.
Co-owner Kate Deng said in the first year of operations her clients had between 20 and 30 serious crashes, including at least three requiring helicopter rescues. But that dropped to just two crashes last summer "and they were not that serious".
Deng says on-road driver training for Chinese tourists helps them feel more confident.
GRANT MATTHEW/FAIRFAX NZ
Deng says on-road driver training for Chinese tourists helps them feel more confident.
Deng's staff questioned prospective drivers to gauge their level of experience, and sent them a short test covering road rules about speed, left turns and using roundabouts.
READ MORE
* China aware of NZ crashes
* Chinese driver opts for chauffeur after crashing into ute in Marlborough
* Chinese tourist admits causing head-on crash
* Nearly 50,000 Chinese tourists arrive in NZ for February's Golden Week
* Crash data shows danger level of foreign drivers
* Tourists spend thousands on chauffeurs to avoid driving on New Zealand roads
* Foreign driver has rental car taken by police after complaints from public
* Tourists at fault in one in 12 South Island crashes
* After girl's death, 5000 sign petition for testing of foreign drivers
* Editorial: More testing not the answer for foreigners on difficult roads
"You can have a driving licence for three to five years and hardly drive at all in China. We ask 'do you drive to work every day?'
About 5 per cent of customers were refused hire cars.
"Some of them are really angry, they say 'it's not your business'. But some take it really positively because we're looking after them really well."
Deng said she was also using a new company owned by a Chinese man who took visitors out for training drives and explained the road rules so they felt more confident behind the wheel.
"If they believe after a long time they can't drive, they will turn them away and send them back to us and we will book a bus."
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Other rental companies declined to rent vehicles to tourists if they were not up to speed with New Zealand's driving laws.
Hertz New Zealand manager Mark Righton said the company made sure clients were prepared to drive when they got to New Zealand and then made further assessments at the front counter.
Hertz employees could cancel a hire at their discretion, he said.
"All our employees have the authority to not rent it out. It could be anyone if there's any reason to think we shouldn't give them the key."
Go Rentals general manager James Dalglish estimated about 10 to 15 per cent of drivers screened before they got behind the wheel required further education.
Extra training "might even go as far as a practical driving test", he said.
"We take it pretty seriously. We have on several occasions not let a hire go ahead."
Rental Vehicle Association chief executive Barry Kidd said while rental car companies refused to hire vehicles to inexperienced drivers, there were no national figures available.
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