Help - passion for driving is fading here
Discussion
This may have been brought up in previous threads, so apologies in advance, but… I need to rant. Is there any point in owning a fast vehicle in New Zealand?
As we know the authorities treat speeding not too dissimilar to aggravated robbery. NZ doesn’t have proper modern motorway network infrastructure throughout the country, it’s like it’s stuck in the 1950s with ‘passing lanes’ both sides with no median barriers separating oncoming traffic – no wonder there are so many fatalities...
If you get caught doing 40kmh/25mph above the speed limit you get your car impounded for 28 days and instantly banned for six months and there are plenty of cop cars ready and waiting with their radars for spirited drivers at silly o’clock on a morning, rather than attend burglaries (NZ Police policy is strictly not to attend a burglary unless there’s been an assault).
I’ve been back here just over two years now and I’m having the passion for driving sucked out of me. Anything with more than 250bhp just seems a complete waste of time, imo. And then there’s the noisy slush the NZTA likes to call roads; still using that hideous chip-seal rubbish for the vast majority of surfaces, instead of building roads with proper asphalt tarmac like every other first-world country.
How do owners of 911 GT3s/BMW M5s etc cope? I've got a Z4 Coupe 3.0SI and I'd wager I never use more than 50% of its performance potential here.
There's a lot I like about NZ, but driving here isn't one of them. I think a move back to the UK may be in order...
As we know the authorities treat speeding not too dissimilar to aggravated robbery. NZ doesn’t have proper modern motorway network infrastructure throughout the country, it’s like it’s stuck in the 1950s with ‘passing lanes’ both sides with no median barriers separating oncoming traffic – no wonder there are so many fatalities...
If you get caught doing 40kmh/25mph above the speed limit you get your car impounded for 28 days and instantly banned for six months and there are plenty of cop cars ready and waiting with their radars for spirited drivers at silly o’clock on a morning, rather than attend burglaries (NZ Police policy is strictly not to attend a burglary unless there’s been an assault).
I’ve been back here just over two years now and I’m having the passion for driving sucked out of me. Anything with more than 250bhp just seems a complete waste of time, imo. And then there’s the noisy slush the NZTA likes to call roads; still using that hideous chip-seal rubbish for the vast majority of surfaces, instead of building roads with proper asphalt tarmac like every other first-world country.
How do owners of 911 GT3s/BMW M5s etc cope? I've got a Z4 Coupe 3.0SI and I'd wager I never use more than 50% of its performance potential here.
There's a lot I like about NZ, but driving here isn't one of them. I think a move back to the UK may be in order...
Edited by A44RON on Thursday 17th May 02:50
I get where you're both coming from, but when I lived in the UK I drove faster cars than the Z4 Coupe and used a lot more of their performance, with no issues at all.
We know that the vast majority of cars on UK motorways travel a bit more than 70mph
and the traffic just seems to flow better and much quicker there - when you're not in rush-hour and/or London. That combined with proper lane discipline and it's less stressful as a result.
Provided you're not driving like an idiot, nobody bats an eyelid there and that's what I also miss. Yes the population density is much higher, but then the road network infrastructure is 20x better too with plenty more roads to cope. Many times I can remember driving up the middle of the country on a weekend and having all three lanes of the motorway to myself. Or flowing down a well-sighted country A-road with nobody in sight.
I will miss the $80 annual road tax/rego, cheap car insurance and a handful of South Island roads. However I won't miss the moronic driving standards, lack of choice, dreadfully-built roads, the quick-fix bodge jobs on said roads and the relentless tv adverts on speed.
We know that the vast majority of cars on UK motorways travel a bit more than 70mph
and the traffic just seems to flow better and much quicker there - when you're not in rush-hour and/or London. That combined with proper lane discipline and it's less stressful as a result.Provided you're not driving like an idiot, nobody bats an eyelid there and that's what I also miss. Yes the population density is much higher, but then the road network infrastructure is 20x better too with plenty more roads to cope. Many times I can remember driving up the middle of the country on a weekend and having all three lanes of the motorway to myself. Or flowing down a well-sighted country A-road with nobody in sight.
I will miss the $80 annual road tax/rego, cheap car insurance and a handful of South Island roads. However I won't miss the moronic driving standards, lack of choice, dreadfully-built roads, the quick-fix bodge jobs on said roads and the relentless tv adverts on speed.
dobly said:
I wholeheartedly agree with the OP regarding road surfaces and the state of SH1 in the South Island - large stretches of it are too coarse to drive on without ear defenders -why can't they put any tar in the tarmac over here? It's like they are trying to replicate a gravel road without the gravel moving.....
There are some decent roads which could be made far more enjoyable by building them from the correct materials - they do in some places, but often a few hundred metres down the road it's back to the sharp stones set on their ends...
And why isn't the main road in the largest island country a dual carriageway from end to end?
Same. My car rides on 17-inch wheels and doesn’t have particularly low-profile tyres, but the road noise on chip-seal surfaces is horrendous. It really gets amplified when you go from a (short) proper tarmac stretch back to chip-seal.There are some decent roads which could be made far more enjoyable by building them from the correct materials - they do in some places, but often a few hundred metres down the road it's back to the sharp stones set on their ends...
And why isn't the main road in the largest island country a dual carriageway from end to end?
As beautiful as NZ is, the lack of modern infrastructure and choice frustrates the hell out of me. Myself personally, I just found commuting less stressful in UK outside rush-hour.
I’m heading back to the UK in October for a few weeks to catch up with friends. It’s going to be a culture-shock going back to crowds again, but if I slot back in to life there quickly then a move back will be on the cards
RobDickinson said:
Eqc is government backed insurance for private residences? Hardly appropriate for roads.
There's huge chunks of sh1 hardly used at all. Those that are get upgraded, between chc and ashvegas will end up mostly dual lanes one day
I'd be amazed if that happens within the next 10 years. It needs to happen though. iirc the current SH1 upgrade only includes dual-laning from Christchurch down to just before Dunsandel? With the number of trucks on the road they may as well continue it to Timaru or Dunedin. But I'm dreaming There's huge chunks of sh1 hardly used at all. Those that are get upgraded, between chc and ashvegas will end up mostly dual lanes one day
Excellent points made on this page - thanks all.
Well, I had it coming to me; last week late at night I got followed by an unmarked car the entire length of the Christchurch southern motorway. This was about 2am with no other car on the motorway in either direction, except for me and this chap about 20 metres behind me. I was sat at around 125-130kmh/80mph-ish and he just stayed behind me from start-to-finish. I know, schoolboy error, I should've been wiser.
A few minutes into the commute, I did think "if that's a police car, surely he'd pull me over at the first opportunity, 'safety-and-all'... Why goad me?." But he didn't, so I thought perhaps it was another car happy to stay relatively close to my tail. Anyway, the motorway ends and about 500m up the road the lights come on. He didn't have a radar in his car or wasn't using it, so he estimated what I was doing by his speedo. Apparently they are entitled to do this.
During the conversation, he naturally asked me how fast I was going. "I wasn't looking at my speedo, I was looking at the road and my mirrors". This didn't go down well. He didn't tell me exactly what he was booking me for, other than "too high speed and you'll get it in the post". Confirmed by the naughty letter received it was 130kmh. I'll take the medicine for my complacency.
Interestingly, he didn't carry out an alcohol breath test. I don't drink alcohol full-stop, so it wouldn't have bothered me. Would've respected him more for doing so.. But given the time of night I thought that was peculiar.
Looking forward to getting reacquainted with British roads in October.
Well, I had it coming to me; last week late at night I got followed by an unmarked car the entire length of the Christchurch southern motorway. This was about 2am with no other car on the motorway in either direction, except for me and this chap about 20 metres behind me. I was sat at around 125-130kmh/80mph-ish and he just stayed behind me from start-to-finish. I know, schoolboy error, I should've been wiser.
A few minutes into the commute, I did think "if that's a police car, surely he'd pull me over at the first opportunity, 'safety-and-all'... Why goad me?." But he didn't, so I thought perhaps it was another car happy to stay relatively close to my tail. Anyway, the motorway ends and about 500m up the road the lights come on. He didn't have a radar in his car or wasn't using it, so he estimated what I was doing by his speedo. Apparently they are entitled to do this.
During the conversation, he naturally asked me how fast I was going. "I wasn't looking at my speedo, I was looking at the road and my mirrors". This didn't go down well. He didn't tell me exactly what he was booking me for, other than "too high speed and you'll get it in the post". Confirmed by the naughty letter received it was 130kmh. I'll take the medicine for my complacency.
Interestingly, he didn't carry out an alcohol breath test. I don't drink alcohol full-stop, so it wouldn't have bothered me. Would've respected him more for doing so.. But given the time of night I thought that was peculiar.
Looking forward to getting reacquainted with British roads in October.
cheddar said:
AussieFozzy said:
I would say buy a slower car. I have a Fiesta ST
I drive about with the pedal to the floor on a regular basis making silly whoosy turbo noises and giggling like a child.
Buying a car to suit your local environment, lifestyle and traffic laws is big step in the right direction.I drive about with the pedal to the floor on a regular basis making silly whoosy turbo noises and giggling like a child.
When I moved to the countryside I had a 123D M/Sport, accomplished thing but always going 40kph faster than it felt so I bought an Amarok but never really used it as a ute so I chopped that for a V8 X5, perfect in every respect except that I never went off road and when it snowed I'd stay at home so that went and I've now got a V6 hatch that's quick for the odd blat or overtake but smooth, refined and comfortable for the other 99.9% of the time.
A Fiesta ST would get me in trouble, feisty little things and not exactly slow but then again nowadays just about anything will break the speed limit in 2nd gear and top 200kph.
V6 hatchbacks are like hens teeth here - Alfa 147 GTA or Toyota Blademaster 3.5 V6? I think the latter gives my mate's Golf R32 a run for its money - rockets!
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