They might not be part of the official road code, but Kiwi drivers think there are some unwritten rules that should never be broken on our roads.
A Reddit user asked people which unofficial driving 'rule' annoys them most to see people break in New Zealand. The results were varied, passionate and often vulgar.
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One user said their biggest gripe was "people who sit too close to a car traveling slow and don't overtake, so you end up not being able to overtake either one and end up sitting behind them for an hour."
"I think it is polite to let somebody who is faster than you past," another wrote.
"Sadly, some people are seemingly content to drive for hours with a long line of frustrated drivers behind them, which is a shame given that it isn't always easy or safe to pass on our roads and so it often isn't possible to do anything about it."
Many people had strong feelings around the etiquette of being allowed into a lane of traffic.
"If I let you in a gap, you better acknowledge me in some way," one commenter wrote.
However one user said they hated the opposite behaviour more, bemoaning drivers who "sit there waving their thanks rather than pulling out into the perfectly formed gap you opened up for them".
Someone proposed a legal solution to the problem.
"This should be a written part of the road code with the penalty being fines/demerits and a big red sticker you have to put on the front of the car, so the rest of the country knows never to let you in again."
One user wrote a profanity-laden rant about drivers who don't keep left, referring to them as "c**ts who continue to barrel down the middle of a narrowish street, forcing you to take evasive action."
"It is ALWAYS SUVs and Utes, and they never acknowledge you. If you are unsure where the edges of your oversized dickmobile are, maybe you shouldn't be f**king driving, you f**king c**ts."
Other complaints included people who park in the middle of a space big enough for two cars, pedestrians who loiter near zebra crossings and the overuse of hazard lights.
"Parallel parking is not a reason for hazard lights," one user wrote. "Double parking is not a reason for hazard lights. Being stopped on a wide shoulder well off the road is not a reason for hazard lights.
"That being said, a tap of the hazard lights to signify thanks is acceptable, provided it's not likely to confuse any other road users."
A UK driver gave their two cents on New Zealand's worst driving habits.
"The speed Kiwis go through shopping centre car parks is mental," they wrote.
"There's also a general contempt of pedestrians, even if they have right of way. Combine that with the lack of hazard perception here and it's a genuinely dangerous combination."
They said New Zealanders are too arrogant behind the wheel, leading to unsafe road behaviour.
"My general criticism of Kiwi driving is the misplaced self-confidence, and entitlement complex that I think comes with being a young country that was mostly built around the car."
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