Right Hand Rule in NZ & my driving experiences here.

New Zealand is the only country in the world that has this right hand rule. What is this right hand rule? What's the real reason behind this rule? To answer all that, I have to refer to AA New Zealand website here . I just want to highlight these:

The current give way rule was introduced in 1977 and holds that a vehicle turning right takes precedence over a vehicle turning left. The rule came from Victoria, Australia originally to assist trams on Melbourne's streets.But Victoria changed back in 1993 and experienced a decline in intersection crashes as a result. (from www.aa.co.nz)

And also these:

There is evidence that our give way rules are a factor in the 2,560 intersection crashes, and one or two deaths, each year. (from www.aa.co.nz)


 

From my own experiences:

I started to drive here in early 2007 when I brought my eldest daughter to attend the playgroup once a week in the Hillcrest Library. Even until now, I'm not confident enough to go to places out of town. It's not just the right hand rule that scares me but also when it comes to a roundabout. Most drivers here don't really stop at a roundabout. I've heard lots of honking noise at the back but I chose to ignore. baik kita hati2 kan drpd terlanggar kereta org  Everytime there are new Malaysians who just arrived, we would tell them about this rule to warn them. dah kat sini kereta murah dan ramai yg beli kereta utk mudah bergerak 

Lately, tourists from other countries who came here for a holiday were involved in fatal accidents due to their ignorance of  this rule and other road rules here. tapi dah ajal jugak sebenarnya We (the Malaysians) won't have too much trouble adapting as they also drive on the left side of the road. But for others who are used to drive on the right side of the road, they might have problems in adjusting and adapting. 

Even until now, I only drive to and fro Peachgrove playcentre (abt 2 km from our house), sometimes to The Warehouse (1.5 km), or sometimes to visit my friends in Flagstaff. (15 km). dah hubby tak bg drive jauh2 But I guess even when I was in Malaysia, I've never drive too far from home. The longest journey I've ever made was from Nibong Tebal to Ipoh. (lebih kurang 2 jam je kan. tak ingat dah. berapa km pun tak pasti. hehe. org2 yg biasa drive kat sini mesti tahu kan.)