"Asian Drivers"

Ever since getting back to New Zealand in April, I've been constantly reminded of how ubiquitous negative comments about "bloody Asian drivers" are.

It makes me feel yukky because racism makes me feel yukky and vilifying an ethic grouping for a perceived shared fault is racism.

It also pisses me off because there is a huge amount of anecdotal evidence out there to support the contention that people of Asian descent are bad drivers.

And of course they are! If you've ever been to an Asian country (having only been to Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia myself I can't generalise too much, but) you will have noticed the massive difference in the way the roads are used in that part of the world. Huge volumes of traffic, much of it on foot and more on scooters, hardly any road rules, signage or lines on the road rare, traffic cops even rarer, ad-hoc systems of giving way (first come first serve, most expensive vehicle goes first, just go and hope)... it's no wonder many Asian immigrants find themselves on unfamiliar territory on our roads.

I wouldn't DREAM of driving in any of the Asian countries I've been to, but luckily there were plenty of affordable viable alternatives. With public transport being so crap and taxis being so expensive, there are few if any viable alternatives to car ownership in New Zealand.

Basically, my point is this - many Asian immigrants arrive with licenses from their own country which are converted to a New Zealand drivers license without testing the driver. Subsequently, many immigrants who lack the experience and skills required to safely drive on NZ roads are given licenses - but is that their fault? Or is it ours, for accepting on faith that holding a drivers license means someone can automatically drive on our roads to our expectations?

I agree with Eric Thompson of the Herald that getting a drivers license should be difficult and that 3rd party car insurance should be mandatory (she says while not having it herself) but I think it's especially important that we introduce mandatory testing to convert an overseas drivers license into a NZ one.