I'm Not Usually Into Bands But...

Yesterday, I heard the music of a band called Kissed By the Moon. They were playing at an outreach event that my 18ups group put on. The guys in the band were Christians but they played clean secular songs. I was impressed by the talent of this band. Their songs were full of energy and passion, and their skills on the guitar, bass, and drum were amazing. This is the second time since I've been in NZ that I've heard a live Kiwi band. The first time was the first week I was here, when a new friend, Luke, invited Cara and I to his battle of the bands competition. He was in a band called the Holy Rollers that I discovered also had a really great sound. Recently, I've wanted to hear the Holy Rollers again but hadn't gotten around to calling Luke to find out when they play in Hamilton again. Well, yesterday, speaking to the lead singer in Kissed By the Moon he informed me that they and the Holy Rollers will be playing in Hamilton in December. Sweet! I'm there! It's funny, I'm really not a band person (especially not a groupie) but I love music so this had to come out at some point. I'm looking forward to the fun.

Driving in New Zealand - A Wild Ride

New Zealanders are bad drivers.

I'm sorry, but there's no other way to put it. Everytime I get behind the wheel I say a quick prayer that God would protect me from the crazy driving that I will no doubt witness. Some of the bad driving is due to New Zealand driving rules. Some of it is due to the drivers.

First off, speeding seems to be pretty much the norm. Going the speed limit or even 5 Kilometers over the speed limit will result in you being passed by the majority of the cars on the street. Nevermind that there's a pretty hefty fine for speeding. Even mountainous, curvy areas don't cause people to slow down. They hit the curves without the slightest pressure to the break, sometimes resulting in their car going way across the roadmarking line. Speeding is such a problem that the police have created commercials that graphically show drivers the fatal results of speeding, especially around curves. I have to admit, I am a bit disheartened by the number of crosses I see along the road whenever I drive out in the country.

New Zealand drivers also make a lot of poor decisions when trying to turn or pass another vehicle. Roads are wider here than in the states so whenever a car slows down to turn all the cars behind it just go around it. The problem with this is that many times they have to swerve into the opposite lane to pass the car. Many times when they do this they don’t slow down and come pretty close to the cars coming in the opposite direction. I’ve seen accidents almost happen due to this bad driving. Also, drivers make many quick turns that leave just a split second before they are hit by an on-coming car. Once again, there are commercials on TV warning people about making stupid turning decisions.

Finally, some NZ driving laws add to the cause of accidents. The “Give Way” law says that the person closest to the curb making a turn must allow the car coming from the opposite direction turning onto the same street to turn first. (I know confusing.) In other words…if this law were in the States the person making a right turn must allow the car in the opposite lane to turn (left) first onto the street before they turn right onto the street. The problem with this law is that because cars will go around a car that’s trying to turn, it’s hard to tell if you should just turn or “give way.” A recipe for an accident if both drivers trying to turn aren’t extremely aware of what the other cars around them are doing.

There’s tons more that I witness on a daily basis, but this blog is already long enough. Just so you know, not all NZ drivers are bad, but more than should be. Lord protect me when I drive!