Robbed in New Zealand

[bulu]

My daughter called me up a few days ago and told me she can't find her car. She said she parked at a residential area in Sunset Road. I calmly told her to report to the police station just down the road and they might be able to help her. And true enough, they were able to help her. It was them who "stole" the car. The poor girl had to spend the whole afternoon locating the towing car park and was slapped with a ticket for NZD120. This is for parking in an unmarked road side. Our guess is that it is not within 6 meters from the junction (not stated in the ticket). We are still finding out.

A few months ago, my wife was sent a ticket for NZD60 for stopping to pick up my daughter at Auckland Uni. A couple of weeks earlier was a RM120 speed ticket for going at 60km/hr at a 50km/hr zone. These tickets were sent by post and when we wrote back to appeal, a not-so-polite reply telling us to see them in court. Not sure how true is this, but i was told the fines collection is outsourced to a private third party whose interest is making money.

We are now moving around in fear of being robbed blind again.

[ralf-nz]

To less information provided by you, but I would think that you really try stretching the law, i.e. road code. Have you studied it in the past? Or could you 'just' convert your driver licences?

[JandM]

Fines such as you describe are all laid down by national traffic law or local by-laws. There's no element of private enterprise involved - they're making sure everyone knows it's REALLY in their own interests to stay legal. Yes, it's very annoying, but nobody is going to forget if tempted to do that particular thing again. The first thing my son said when I went to NZ and was about to drive on my own was, 'Watch yourself - they're really strict about the regulations.' The only way to avoid fines and/or penalty points is to be sure to know the rules and to keep within them.

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/fa...-offences.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g2...w.Zealand.html

[girlwithanewf]

A couple of weeks earlier was a RM120 speed ticket for going at 60km/hr at a 50km/hr zone. These tickets were sent by post and when we wrote back to appeal, a not-so-polite reply telling us to see them in court. Not sure how true is this, but i was told the fines collection is outsourced to a private third party whose interest is making money.

We are now moving around in fear of being robbed blind again.

They say that troubles comes in threes.... But I am not sure why you tried to appeal the speeding ticket - you were going 10km above the limit. The fines are there to stop people speeding. You weren't being 'robbed blind', you were driving too fast. I am sure you are not the only one on the forum to have had a speeding ticket.

[bob_the_engineer]

been driving around nz for many years, never had a ticket, never had a fine... stop breaking the law and you won't get a fine :-)


bob

[Super_BQ]

I have a friend who's visited Malaysia many times and the driving habits there are entirely different to NZ. I think a lot of the problem is migrants from abroad, where traffic codes are slack or non-existent, have a difficult problem understanding the NZ driving code. To think that my friend's visit in Malaysia saw a person parked in the middle of the highway sleeping was quite amazing.

Disputing fines can be a huge waste of time. When I get a photo radar speeding ticket, I view it as a way to fund the police dept. It's not like those in law enforcement have a walk in a park. In many places in the world, when the police pull you over, you're expected to open your wallet. This cash goes towards to subsidise the police officer's already low pay. Sometimes I wonder it's just as easy to just give the police officer cash on the spot and we both go our own ways instead of hassling with the paperwork later on (ticket in the mail, going to the bank to pay, etc.).

[Dave in NZ]

This may help you find out why she was towed away

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/ro...t-to-park.html

[newarrival]

It has all been said in the post before.., I would just like to give an example which proves exactly the opposite- that police is not enforcing every time, but are very understanding if the situation allows it. We had friends visiting and did a little road trip, driving around the South Island. One of our friends wanted to give it a go and relieve OH and I, so he was taking over when we took the back road from Oxford towards Geraldine. We were nearing the exit of a small town, you could already see the '100kmh' sign, but we were still in the 50s zone, when he asked about the rules....
In the same minute a police car came towards us, turned round, flashed the lights and then the cop told him that he was doing 80km or even more, I can't quite remember. He realised immediately that it was a tourist driving, a tourist who still had an ancient German drivers licence on him, which he handed over and you could see the cop looking at it, never seen something like that before, I suppose....
He explained the rules about keeping to the speed limit until you reach the sign, wished him a good trip and let him off without any charge!

[sks]

If you think that NZ Police are strict at enforcing the road code, I suggest you not try driving in the US if you ever visit. Not only are the fines typically much higher, but the police are much less understanding -- even less so if you've an overseas license.

In NYC, the cheapest parking fine (overtime at a parking meter) was, by memory, US$90 when I left. I once parked behind a taxi stand, and according to the agent, my car was protruding into the zone (if it was, it would have been by a couple of cm at most). I was ticketed and towed -- cost me US$440 or so to retrieve the car. Luckily, I had no outstanding infringements, as these have to paid for in full before they release the vehicle. You also have to pay a storage fee on top of the tow fee and fine, and if you don't retrieve the vehicle within a month, they sell the car.

I've driven >100,000 km in NZ in 18 months, and have not been ticketed, towed, or even had an unfriendly glance from the police. Per prior comments, this appears to be the norm, not the exception, so I can only repeat previous posters' advice -- operate within the law and you'll have absolutely no problem.

Not saying that this applies to the OP in any way, but my wife recently converted her US license and two of my sons recently applied for learners' licenses here, and I've notice that there were a significant number of applicants seeking to convert "licenses" that might have been hand-written takeaway menus by all appearances. They weren't successful, but I have to wonder how many similar attempts succeed. IMO, NZ should only permit conversions from jurisdictions where the validity of the original license can be checked, and only after it has been.

[benandclare]

This cash goes towards to subsidise the police officer's already low pay.

It actually goes here.

http://www.police.govt.nz/faq/items/23159