New Zealand traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

The Complete New Zealand Driving and Rental Guide

With a territory as large as the United Kingdom but with only a population of 4.5 million inhabitants, New Zealand has always been a popular travel destination thanks to its beautiful and diverse natural sceneries. Here is a driving and rental guide we prepare especially for you aiming at helping you have a smooth road trip.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

In New Zealand, driving is on the left with overtaking on the right. New Zealand has the same system of signs and road code as you would find in the United Kingdom. During winter, especially in the mountains or on South Island, driving can be tricky. Therefore snow chains are highly recommended when renting a car at this season.

Speed Limit

There are speed limits of 100 km/h on highways and 50 km/h in urban areas unless signs say otherwise.

Traffic Signs

There are three major types of signs in New Zealand: compulsory, warning and information signs. Here are some of the regulatory signs that you may often see in New Zealand.

Stop

Give Way

No U-turn

30 km/h Speed Limit

No Stopping

Warning signs are diamond-shaped with yellow or green background.

60 km/h Speed Limit Ahead

Merging Traffic from Right

Road Bump

Watch for Large Animals (Cattle)

Railway Crossbuck

Information signs are in rectangular shape with a white background.

Left Turn at Any Time With Care

Cyclists Cross Here With Care (to the Left)

Further information on signs for driving in New Zealand can be found in this booklet.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

The driver is responsible for ensuring all passengers under 15 years wear seat belts. Passengers aged 15 and over are responsible for putting seat belts on themselves.

Booster Seat Laws

All children under 7 must use an approved child restraint appropriate for their age and size.

You must correctly secure children aged between 7 and 8 in an approved child restraint if one is available in the vehicle. If not, in any child restraint or safety belt that is available.

For children aged between 8 and 14, a safety belt must be used. If not available, they must travel in the back seat.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

· Forbidden Parking

You cannot park your car in the following spots:

- Along the broken yellow lines along the side of the curb, since it means that parking is not permitted

- Near a corner, curve, hill, traffic island or intersection, if it will stop other people from seeing along the road

- On, or closer than 5 metres to a fire hydrant, unless somebody who can move the vehicle stays with it

- In front of or closer than 1 metre to a vehicle entrance

- On or closer than 6 metres to an intersection, unless there are parking spaces or a notice telling you that you can park there

· Parking Signs

Parking signs in New Zealand are marked with numbers indicating how long you can park the car and an arrow to indicate directions. Some are specified with the date of the week as well.

New Zealand Parking With Specified Time And Arrow

New Zealand Parking With Specified Time And Dates And Arrow

· Paid Parking

All machines accept New Zealand coins, and some of them have been introduced with credit cards and TXT-a-Park payment methods. Currently, you still need to go for Pay-and-Display parking. However, all machines will be upgraded by March 2018 to include Pay By Plate technology, which allows you to enter your vehicle’s registration plate number directly on the machine and pay for it by credit card, debit card, coins or TXT-a-Park. Note that there is a 50-cent fee for credit card or TXT-a-Park transaction.

New Zealand Paid Parking Metre (Image from Stuff.co.nz)

Fuel Prices

The average gasoline price in New Zealand in November 2017 is $2.22 per litre, while it is of $1.47 for diesel.

Toll

There are three toll roads in New Zealand: the Northern Gateway Toll Road north in Auckland, the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road and the Takitimu Drive Toll Road in Tauranga.

New Zealand Toll Road (Image from nzta.govt.nz)

How much you should pay depends on your car type. You can pay the tolls by debit or credit cards, POLi, and cash.

Debit or credit card

You can use your Visa or Mastercard to buy or pay a Pay & Go toll.

POLi

If you have Internet banking with ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, TSB Bank, Westpac or Bank Direct, then you can buy or pay a Pay & Go toll (external link) using Payment Online (POLi).

Note: POLi is not available for business internet banking customers.

Cash

If you prefer to pay with cash (or by debit/credit card) you can pay your tolls at selected service stations (a transaction fee of $1.20 per transaction will apply).

Be aware that as a car renter, not paying for the toll fee will result in the car hire company paying it for you and collecting the toll fee along with an add-on of management fee (note that it can sometimes be costly) from your credit card.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

If you are 20 or over, you must not drive if you have consumed more than the legal alcohol limit, which is 250 micrograms per litre of breath or 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood (0.05%). There is a zero tolerance for alcohol if you are under 20.

Traffic Fines

In New Zealand, exceeding the speed limit results in an infringement fine range from $30 to $630. The amount of the infringement fine will depend on the difference between the actual and legal speed limit.

As for parking, an infringement notice can be issued if a vehicle is parked illegally on public land, or in breach of what a parking sign says. In some circumstances, the vehicle can also be towed away if it is obstructing traffic.

Normally, there will be a website or hotline number on the front or back of the ticket as well as the reason for the violation fine and the relevant voucher number. Please be aware that you can log onto the website or call the hotline and follow the guidelines to pay the ticket.

Failure to pay tickets will result in the car hire company paying them on the renter’s behalf, and debit the renter credit card for the fine amount plus an administration fee. Please note that you can always contact QEEQ’ 24/7 customer service team for help if you have questions concerning this matter.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

At the time of rental in New Zealand, all drivers must present a full and valid driving licence from the renters country of residence and the licence should be held for at least 1 or 2 years ( policies may vary depending on car hire companies). An International Driving Permit is highly recommended for international drivers. If your domestic driving licence is not printed in English (Arabic, Japanese, Cyrillic etc), an International Driving Permit (IDP/IDL) or an official translation in English is required when you drive in New Zealand.

Minimum age in New Zealand is 21 years (age may vary depending on car category) and the maximum is 80 years of age. If you're 21-25, you are likely to have to pay a young driver fee. If you're 65 or older, you may have to pay a senior driver fee.

Guest reviews

1 /

A.Gurung

April 12, 2021

Destination: Greymouth

9.3Excellent

Staff were awesome and very helpful and the condition of the car was pretty excellent.

K.Sivasubramanian

Destination: Queenstown

9.7It was really great.

Car was neat and clean. It did meet the expecations.

O.Alomar

March 18, 2021

9.7Excellent

Very nice staff and helpful

Pete

March 5, 2021

9Cheap price but premium service

Ended up with a bigger car (SUV) which was appreciated. Helpful staff and quick process. Fantastic value for money!

B.Toia

December 24, 2020

Destination: Auckland

10Excellent

Lovely staff. Car had some nice touches like a phone holder and car charger with double USB ports, which I usually have to bring myself. Would definitely hire again x

T.Gordon

December 15, 2020

The car was impeccably maintained and very clean. It was however a 2007 model vehicle. I wasn’t aware of this during the booking process. No problem, but I would have preferred to have been aware of this.

ADC

December 6, 2020

6Disappointed!

We randomly received ford focus. We expected too much but got disappointed. There was a prompting reminder that the car needed a maintenance. We felt it because even we were just 2 riding the car, it was difficult to drive. It felt like we have heavy luggages inside. The aircon is not working working not unless you turn the fan to level 4. This must have not been the case if they were maintaining their cars properly.

December 5, 2020

Yes, everything perfectly.

Andrew

December 4, 2020

8.3Glad to have discovered QEEQ

Car was old but fair value for the cost. Very friendly and helpful staff. Delay picking up while issue with another customer was dealt with by the sole staff member.

K.Thummala

Destination: Christchurch

8Very good

Good

Eduardo

November 29, 2020

8Good low budget option

The company didn’t have any Toyota Yaris (option I had booked) available and tried to give me a Nissan Tiida instead, I refuse it regarding its size and the lack of ISOFIX for my baby car seat, after a friendly discussion I agreed to have the Nissan Latio. Wouldn’t say it was a big issue. Just a little inconvenience that could be avoided with a better organization. I still recommend it if you need just a cheap rental option.

W.Wright

November 26, 2020

10Good value

Excellent all round

A.Phipps

November 19, 2020

9.7Easy.

Easy it was.

D.McKenzie

November 14, 2020

Check in took much longer than expected but vehicle condition was good and we were upgraded at no extra charge

Svetlana

October 29, 2020

The guys from Yes Rentals do their best to make rentals as quick as possible. The car was clean and tidy. We enjoyed the service provided by Yes Rentals.

6.3Average

Long wait for pickup at airport. Then car was an older vehicle in poor condition.

Aran Whelan Byrne

October 27, 2020

10Perfect

Great rental car. Very new and clean. One of the best rental cars I have driven. Brilliant service as well by staff.

Rei Nguyen

October 11, 2020

It was such a nice car to travel, good services for both pickup and dropoff. The car made us feel comfortable along our road trip. Thank you.

Tracy

October 10, 2020

10Would highly recommend. Great car and service

Top Rental were first class. Easy and quick pick up and drop off at Auckland airport. Car was new and in excellent condition. Exceptional service.

J.Robst-Cross

October 9, 2020

10Smooth, easy and without hassle - perfect.

Great service and vehicle, will definitely use your site again.

September 14, 2020

8.7Very Good

We had to wait for some time to be picked up from the airport when we first arrived. That might have been due to covid and they not wanting to take more than 1 group at the time in the pick up van. We were given a bigger car than booked which was fine by us. Could have had a bigger office

J.Hepworth

September 13, 2020

10EXCELLENT rental Company

LOVE TOP RENTAL

J.Singh

September 12, 2020

Staff is very good and helpfull. Thanks

Kimberly

9.7Amazing value for money with great service

Amazingly quick pick up and drop off experience. Friendly and helpful staff. Nice car.

Mark J

September 8, 2020

9Long wait to get the rental, but good vehicle and very fast drop off.

Didn’t get the specific car we ordered. Replacement vehicular had less space!

August 25, 2020

7.3Good

Apex provide a shuttle service from the airport to the pick up point in Queenstown. When we called for the shuttle to pick us up, no one answered the phone.

Mrs Gumboot

August 21, 2020

7.7Great holiday in Queenstown.

The booking process was really easy and we got a great deal for our 3 days in Queenstown. On pick up, it took several phone calls to contact the pick up staff (which makes complete sense once you see how busy they are). Once pickup contact was established everything ran smoothly and the staff were very friendly. The first car was terrible, something was wrong with it, screeching and sounded sick. A phone call on the second day secured a swap vehicle and this was most appreciated. We were upgraded to a better (bigger) vehicle and this ticked all the boxes for us and we were more comfortable taking the drive over the Crown Range to Queenstown. Note: initially the documentation said we would need to pay $1500 deposit with a 30-60 turn around with the refund. That caused a bit of stress. This was not the case. We paid $500 deposit which was refunded when we returned the vehicle.

s.ponce

August 20, 2020

9Excellent

team was great in helping out! thank you ezu team!

K.P.Murphy

August 19, 2020

8if i had my s#%* together it would have been smooth as.

Pick up was weird as nobody new what van or company was picking us up. i called them twice and the van was at the airport all along with a little EZU on the windscreen which wasn't visible. The staff were very helpful. I had left my drivers license on my scanner at work so they waited until i could organise a temporary one and dropped me off and picked me up to do this. They gave us water and laughed and sympathized. While the car wasn't the MARK X it was close enough. Drop off was easy as. I will definitely use these guys again

August 17, 2020

The car I picked up was not the same as the one I had booked. This was very disappointing. The person at the pick up location was not able to provide any information about this and the contact from Koocar was available only by phone and did not pick up when I called. they then responded by text and were quite rude. Koocar would also not allow me to take the car without signing onto additional insurance.

Valentin Kettu

10Fast and easy service

Great services, car wasn't 4x4 but they gave us chains for free. Would recommend

M.Zebrowski

August 15, 2020

9.7Really good experience

It was really nice experience. Helpful staff and good car

Dave O

August 11, 2020

10Recommended

They were great all round.

9.7Short but sweet - would use again!

Very easy to use and friendly service. Always easy to contact if there was an issue. Great price too.

Y.Ho

August 9, 2020

Staff is very friendly and helpful.

S.Rogers

9Probably use the service again.

The extras inside the car are thoughtful.

G.Skeels

August 6, 2020

I rang the company the day after pick up to say bonnet would not open due to faulty lever. No water in water reservoir so couldn’t clean windscreen or check oil. No one rang back

P.Nedthongsavanh

Destination: Wellington

6.3Not good experience for my first time car rental with Apex. Unfriendly staff and no service mind

I picked up the car at the office at 9AM on last Sunday but experienced with the unfriendly, no service mind male staff at the counter. After we got in to the car, we noticed that the seatbelt at the back seat didn't work just before we drove out. Then the female staff was still care enough and changed the new car for us, but didn't talk anything, just kept me the key and disappeared. My first time worse car rental experience in NZ!

C.Grosvenor

August 4, 2020

Destination: Dunedin

8Cheap and Cheerful

Average little run about, not exactly clean but did the trick. Well worth the money though. No complaints

Kate Taylor

10Simply the best.

We needed a car to get us up the to the ski hill this season and this car did just that. An excellent vehicle and service received from Yesaway. The car was spotless and only had a few thousand km’s on the clock. A first for us in New Zealand, as most rental cars here have been around the clock a few times. Thanks Yesaway. We will be back.

August 3, 2020

10Just what we needed for a fair price!

Yes rentals kindly upgraded our vehicle free of charge. The staff were friendly and we would be happy to use them again. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend yes rentals to friends and whānau

R.Finlay

July 31, 2020

1010/10

Great services. Excellent customer service, Fei looked after us. 10/10 would recommend

R.Landreth

July 30, 2020

10Excellent and great value for money

Excellent service and we got an upgrade. Would highly recommend.

K.Walmsley

July 29, 2020

9.3Fantastic car hire company

The car exceeded all expectations for the price we paid. The car was very clean and the staff very friendly offering a pickup and drop off from the airport. Would book again.

8.3Good value for money and efficient staff.

Efficient car rental service.

July 27, 2020

10A really good experience

Awesome car, plenty of space and tidy, for sure I will use Yes Rentals again

K.Wakerley

July 26, 2020

6Feeling very ripped off and seeking some response and correction

Although we had pre paid the collision damage waiver, Hertz advised this was not the case and charged for this again. They also denied that we had paid a deposit despite showing them the Qeeq receipt. When asked to see his screen I pointed out his own system showed a $200 deposit. The Hertz rep advised the Qeeq agreement was noting to do with them. Total agreed to paid via Qeeq $1,034.19 total charged by Hertz $1,219.94 on top of the $244.13 deposit paid. Accordingly total charged $1,464.07 against the agreed $1,034.19 an extra cost of $429.88!

Tly

July 22, 2020

8.3Quick and easy to get

Lady at the counter was lovely! Car wasn't that comfortable, I knew it was a small car, but yaris is much more comfortable than vitz and you can feel the difference while driving

Mike

July 21, 2020

6Pretty bad.

Booked a large 4x4 SUV but got a small 2wd instead. Couldn't give us a good reason why we couldn't get the vehicle we booked. Their vacuum cleaner didn't work. And had no staff. Very shambolic. A bad experience.

G.Sollie

9.3As good as always

Very good service and lovely staff at the counter.

New Zealand Car Rentals