Speeding fine in NZ ..anyone not paid & then regretted it ?

[3nduro]

So just back from NZ and had a fab time ... but did get stopped by highway patrol for speeding ... took my licence and the fine
was waiting for me at home.

its only £60 ... but still tempted to ignore it .... I did the same in 2005 in canada and they stopped writing to me after 7 years !

anyone know how aggressive the Kiwi babylon are ?

[DIW35]

For the sake of a paltry £60, is it worth the possible hassle?

[Zetec-S]

Do you want to go back to NZ?

[3nduro]

So just back from NZ and had a fab time ... but did get stopped by highway patrol for speeding ... took my licence and the fine
was waiting for me at home.

its only £60 ... but still tempted to ignore it .... I did the same in 2005 in canada and they stopped writing to me after 7 years !

anyone know how aggressive the Kiwi babylon are ?

[Saleen836]

Did they give your licence back or do they still hold it until the fine is paid?

[Tony1963]

I really don’t think the OP would be asking if they’d kept the licence.

[3nduro]

Tony1963 said:

I really don’t think the OP would be asking if they’d kept the licence.

The copper took the licence to check things out and copy all my details into his machine then gave me some crappy docket thing.

Then let me go.

Guess if I wanted to go back to NZ soon then worth paying ...

[caziques]

The NZ "system" has almost no way of enforcing payment.

If you ignore all correspondence, it will end up as a warrant with court bailiffs - who will put it to one side - as they have no powers in the UK.

If, by some small miracle, you are ever asked about this in NZ in the future - the very worst that happens (as a non resident), would be the original fine plus $100 court costs.

Theoretically people can be stopped when leaving NZ (for unpaid fines), but the limit is around $1000 - and even then it can be paid at the time.

[Byker28i]

I had one in italy, for 80 Euros, considering they'd taken time to chase me, I paid it. Wasn't worth the aggro for around £50 (at the time)

[creampuff]

Just as an aside, a Facebook truck dashcam compilation vid from NZ appeared in my Facebook feed last night. It was seriously st driving. Overtaking around bends, overtaking with oncoming traffic, forcing them off the road, making a ‘third lane’ when overtaking even with somebody coming. Overtaking on double lines past junctions. It would put many Chinese st driving videos to shame.

I never realised NZ driving standards were so crap.

[creampuff]

Found it on YouTube
https://youtu.be/5u_usODSJvc

[MitchT]

creampuff said:

Found it on YouTube
https://youtu.be/5u_usODSJvc

Can't see anything there that I don't see in the UK on a frequent basis.

[jesta1865]

MitchT said:

creampuff said:

Found it on YouTube
https://youtu.be/5u_usODSJvc

Can't see anything there that I don't see in the UK on a frequent basis.

trust me, having now lived in Auckland for nearly a year the video shows nothing out of the ordinary for the driving out here.

considering the country is about 10% bigger than the UK across the 2 islands and the population is less than Londons for the entire country, I'm still not sure how they bang into each other, but they do. Plus I think every car in the north island goes to Auckland about 4:30 in the evening for a couple or three hours of sitting in gridlocked traffic

I am going to get a dash cam as a couple of weeks ago we followed a fire engine behind a ute towing a horsebox. the fire engine decided he'd been held up for long enough and decided to overtake on a straight bit of road, fine except for the hill in the road and not being able to see over it. the poor driver that came face to face with a bloody great red truck on his side of the road somehow managed to avoid it.

have seen people going the wrong way round a roundabout 3 times and one accident on one as a lady stopped to let someone out from the 'side road' and the van behind smashed into her.

lane discipline is woeful on the highways that have 2 lanes

having said that they zip merge much better than in the UK and stick closer to the speed limits more.

[caziques]

jesta1865 said:

lane discipline is woeful on the highways that have 2 lanes

having said that they zip merge much better than in the UK and stick closer to the speed limits more.

Outside lane morons are a significant problem down here in Christchurch, and yes - there are probably less people here who exceed the speed limits. Which just goes to show that "speeding" really isn't the issue - there are simply too many drivers who aren't aware they are doing anything wrong (driving too close, failing to anticipate).

The KSI rate for NZ is much higher than the UK.