Whether you’re learning to ride a motorbike or you’re a two-wheel veteran, getting involved in a motorcycling community can give you fresh perspective on riding, and help you make friends with similar interests. There are groups you can join and…
In addition to NZTA, there are three main non-profit organisations that promote driver safety in schools. As 15-19-year-olds are the drivers most at risk, these organisations run workshops and provide material that helps young drivers make the right choice, and…
Chances are that sometime in the future you will drive a car with a baby in it. Hopefully the baby will be quiet and will sleep, but any parent will tell you that this won’t happen every time. To have…
Roughly every two weeks a child is admitted to hospital because it has been run over in a driveway. Around five children are killed each year this way. It’s usually younger children (mainly toddlers around 2 years old that don’t…
You are more likely to see deer on the roads in autumn as April and May is the main mating season for deer. There are 8 types of deer in New Zealand (if you include the potential for some elusive…
To get your full driver’s licence you will need to take both a theory and practical test. They require completely different skills as one is a multiple-choice test administered in a testing centre on a computer and the other is…
Rain brings changes to the road surface and your visibility, so you need to adjust your riding technique and watch your speed. Scanning The process of checking the road ahead and around you is called scanning. It’s how you will…
Loading a car Roof racks If you can’t fit a load in your car, the safest ways are either to have a roof rack with a custom mounted box, or to use a trailer. When not carrying a load on…
Whether you are learning to ride a motorbike and this is your first one, or you’ve been riding a while and want to keep your bike in tip-top shape, these tips will help minimise your breakdowns and improve your riding…
Our roads have to be checked to ensure that they are not suffering significant degradation, and to help NZTA budget for repairs. NZTA has commissioned the use of a Traffic Speed Deflectometer, originally developed by Danish company Greenwood Engineering, and…
Helmets that are sold in New Zealand conform to one of a number of standards: UN/ECE Regulation No. 22: Protective helmets and their visors for drivers and passengers of motorcycles and mopeds (Europe) Australian Standard AS 1698: Protective helmets for…
If you are choosing a new car or your first car your main choices (unless you really want to go all-electric) are petrol (including petrol-hybrid) or diesel. Let’s assume you’re not heading down the hybrid route at the moment and…
Even though your handlebars move your front wheel left-right and can technically steer your bike left or right, once you are moving above around 20kph you won’t use this method to turn. The gyroscopic effect (precession) of your wheels plus…
Children aged 0-6 must be properly restrained by an approved child restraint and must not travel in the car if you can’t put them in an approved child restraint. Children aged 7 must use a child restraint if available. If there’s…
The Institute of Advanced Motorists is a UK-based organisation, founded in 1956, which developed an advanced driving framework from the police driving manual. It is also in operation in other countries such as Australia and New Zealand. While it has…
Within a few years we will see widespread adoption by the insurance industry of telematics in vehicles in return for cheaper premiums. At the moment, insurance companies calculate your risk based on your previous history, your age, where you live,…
Whether you drive a car, truck or bus, or ride a motorbike, heavy winds can cause a lot of extra danger. This article explains the hazards you could experience during and immediately after heavy winds, and their effects on other…
Adjusting your wing mirrors correctly is very easy once you know what to do. Both your left and right mirrors should be adjusted so that you can see the maximum amount of the lane to the side of you as…
Motorcyclists are represented disproportionately in accident statistics because they are not protected by a safety cocoon like a car driver is. Motorbike riders should be wearing the best safety gear possible (read our guide), and the best helmet possible (read our…
The majority of the braking power is via your front wheel – around 75-90%, depending on the road surface, your position when riding, how your bike is set up, and whether you are carrying a load such as a pillion…
