If you’ve been struggling to find the motivation or confidence to go for your driving licence, or you have fears and phobias about driving, perhaps a life coach can help you. Having a driving licence will give you added mobility…
There are a few techniques and therapies you can use to give you more chance of passing your driving test and in this article we cover hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy can be used to improve your confidence, reduce nervousness, improve your spatial…
Visualisation is a technique commonly used by sportspeople and musicians to accustom their brains to performing a particular action. It is simply the process of imagining something happening – a kind of mental rehearsal just like you would rehearse for…
Affirmations or ‘self-talk’ is a common and simple way in which you can improve your performance. You can use it to help you improve your memory so that you remember the Road Code quicker and more effectively, reduce nervousness when…
A skid is where your vehicle’s tyres lose traction on the road surface and it can be caused by too much acceleration, too much braking or too much turning force for the road surface. Some of the advice you will hear…
Two types of crash a likely to occur on corners when riding a motorbike: the lowside and highside crash. Highside crashes The highside crash is the most dangerous of the two types of crash because the action of the motorbike…
You must have your full class 6 licence before you are allowed to carry a pillion passenger. Your bike must have a seat and foot pegs for the passenger. If it doesn’t, there’s a risk they might get a limb…
While it’s only a legal requirement to wear a helmet when riding a motorbike, if you come off, the coarse road surface will act like a cheese grater on your skin and you’ll be left with serious (and often disfiguring)…
Almost all motorcyclists will wear glasses or goggles at some time when riding a motorbike, whether to correct vision, dull the bright sun or protect the eyes. Before you purchase a pair of glasses, though, you’ll need to make sure that…
Rumble strips, raised profile line markings or audio tactile profiled (ATP) road markings, are road markings that generate noise and vibration when you drive over them. The lines are painted like normal road markings except the machine drops ridges (also…
Roading authorities need to convey a certain amount of information to help you drive. Regulatory and advisory signs, street signs, road markings and traffic signals have to compete against advertising hoardings, vehicle signage and other distractions on and off the…
As we reported back in April, NZTA was looking for input into a law change to limit the amount of time drivers and riders spend on their learner or restricted licence. Changes to the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule were announced…
Wearing safety belts The driver is responsible for ensuring all passengers under 15 years of age wear seat belts. Passengers 15 years of age and over are responsible for putting seat belts on themselves. If you are riding a motorbike,…
Historic tourist information signs were yellow pole-mounted signs, and you can still see some of these around in rural areas. Newer signs are brown with white writing. Not all tourist facilities warrant a sign. NZTA divides tourist facilities into five…
Parking permission signs Parking signs are usually blue with white writing. Apart from 5-minute parking, they are in increments of 10 minutes up to 60 minutes, then in 60-minute intervals up to 240 minutes. At the edge of each parking…
Traffic engineers look at engineering, education and enforcement when designing traffic environments. In this article we’ll show you many of the different ways in which traffic engineers make roads safer by using measures to slow drivers down where there might…
Let’s look at a number of examples of giving way which can help you determine what to do at many kinds of intersections in New Zealand (and around the world). If you’ve been confused about the rules before, these simple…
Our traffic lights conform to international standards in terms of their colour, but we have slightly different phasing than some countries. Red lights A red light always means stop. You must wait until the green light shows before you can…
This is a convenient list of speed limits in New Zealand for all types of vehicles. For cars and motorbikes the open road speed limit is 100km/h if the conditions are good. Other vehicles have restricted limits, though. The default…
Your visibility comes from the clothes you wear while riding, the lights on your bike, and the position your put your motorbike in on the road. Your position won’t stay static: you will change where you are riding on the…
