Driving tests
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…
There are three videos in this article with 50 road signs in each to help you learn them for your test. The first video shows you the following signs: Speed limit 50kph (default urban limit) Compulsory stop Right turning traffic must…
To help drivers see where a road is going ahead, both in the day and at night, roads are often installed with markers on the left and right verges, road studs (also called cat’s eyes or reflective raised pavement markers),…
Alcohol and many drugs reduce your reaction time and change your perception of what’s going on around you. This is what makes them dangerous when driving. You dramatically increase the risk of killing or seriously injuring another person (and yourself)…
Street furniture, or road furniture, are items that are added to streets and roads to help direct traffic, inform road users, and help pedestrians. Road users Bollards Bollards prevent traffic from parking or driving on certain areas. They are sometimes…
When we buy a car we rarely think about cabin noise as being a major consideration in the purchase decision. Unless the car is obviously noisy when we drive it we’re unlikely to think about it. In this article we’ll…
Powerful motorbikes are extreme. Everything happens quickly, and once you exceed the limit you need a lot of skill to bring it back. In the same way that the first levels of a computer game are easy, NZTA helps get…
In this article we’ll discuss how competent drivers avoid accidents, and tell you your obligations if you do have an accident. Until computers control all our vehicles, we will continue to have crashes because drivers are only human. Unfortunately humans…
When you start driving you will see three types of speed sign: a public regulatory limit, a private regulatory limit and a suggested safe (advisory) speed. Speed limit Public regulatory limits always end in zero. They start at 10km/h (which…
In this article we’ll recap on the basics of overtaking, then talk about advanced techniques taught to police drivers and instructors. The Road Code has an excellent basic set of guidelines for overtaking. Overtaking is the most risky manoeuvre on…
In a car you have four contact patches with the road, each one about the size of your hand. On a motorbike, the contact patches are the size of a credit card and there are only two. In a truck,…
Imagine this scenario: you are driving down Newton Road in Auckland in the left-hand lane and you are turning left into Piwakawaka Street. It’s drizzling lightly. You can see the map here (it opens in a new window). At the…
When you drive along a motorway you’ll find that most other roads pass over the top of the motorway and there are a few good reasons for this. Bridges It is easier and cheaper to build a longer two-lane bridge than…
When you learn to drive you will have some experience of hazardous conditions, but it’s unlikely that you will experience all kinds of difficult situations that you might encounter. For example, you could learn to drive in Auckland and have…
New Zealand has very little manufacturing of helmets and therefore uses a mixture of international standards from Australia, the EU, Japan and the USA. All helmets sold for road use in New Zealand must meet one of the following approved…
Your helmet is going to help protect your head in a crash, but where is it most likely to hit something? The Icon Airframe Statistic helmet has graphics on it showing you the probability of each section receiving an impact…
In the UK the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has called for a standardised safety rating for motorcycle protective clothing. In New Zealand we have standards for motorcycle helmets which constitute a minimum level of protection. In the UK there…
We’ll take a look at the five different types of helmets and their pros and cons, plus how to choose based on what you’ll use it for. As your helmet is going to help protect you from head injuries, it’s important…
Some corners have deceptive camber or radius and this has been catching motorcyclists out for years, especially on the 130km Southern Coromandel Loop which includes Kopu, Whangamata, Waihi, and Paeroa. This area has seen a disproportionately high number of motorcyclist deaths:…
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