Richard Adams was about to pass the car when it unexpectedly veered onto the wrong side of the road. Photo / Rich Adams
Richard Adams was about to pass the car when it unexpectedly veered onto the wrong side of the road. Photo / Rich Adams
A couple who watched a female tourist in a rental car repeatedly weave across the centre line and drive erratically for 50km say they confiscated her keys before she killed someone.
As Rich Adams spoke to *555 to report the woman's dangerous driving on SH73, blood-curdling screams could be heard from his partner in the passenger seat each time the rental car crossed the centre line and nearly crashed into oncoming cars.
At least two concerned motorists ended up sliding in behind the vehicle on SH73 on Sunday as it wildly varied its speed and crossed the centre line so many times those behind it felt unable to safely pass.
Richard Adams was about to pass the car when it unexpectedly veered onto the wrong side of the road.
The car travelled at speeds of up to 130km/h then dropped back to 60km/h, continuously crossing the centre line.
Adams, who was in his ute, was so concerned he diverted his journey to follow the car until he could get it to stop. He was frantically trying to catch their attention by flashing his lights and tooting his horn.
"I thought maybe they are drunk or something isn't quite right, but when they continued crossing over the white lines - so half of their vehicle was almost over the white lines and then they almost took out a motorcyclist, a campervan and SUV because they were over the centre line," Adams said.
"My partner was screaming because we were going to be at the scene of a crash because these people can't stay on their side of the road." They also had their 3-year-old in the back seat.
The rental car finally pulled over near Lake Lyndon on Porters Pass after about 50km. Inside it was an Indian couple in their late 20s or early 30s who were in New Zealand on their honeymoon and had only arrived 24 hours earlier.
Adams pulled over right behind them and yelled at them and took their keys.
A tourist had their rental car key confiscated when driving on State Highway 73 after weaving across the centre line. Photo / Rich Adams
"I made her cry, she burst into tears, but that didn't worry me too much because I needed to get through about the severity of what was going on," Adams said.
"They were going to kill someone. It was only a matter of time and that's the scary thing.
"I stood another 45 minutes on the side of the road holding the car keys waiting for the police to turn up. If I hadn't of stopped them they would have carried on driving and I don't know where they would have gone. They would have caused a head-on crash somewhere else."
The tourists wanted to drive back to get phone reception, but Adams said they could only do that if he drove their vehicle or if they waited for the police to arrive. He refused to give their keys back.
Police arrived two hours after they first called *555.
West Coast Shuttle owner Cedric Trounson had also called *555 to alert police after the swerving rental car was too dangerous to overtake.
Trounson, who had around half a dozen passengers in his coach heading to the West Coast, said he stopped and spoke to the drivers of both vehicles.
"I told her (tourist), 'you are still alive; this is for your safety'."
Trounson said the woman had just arrived in the country from India and had only recently gained her licence. She thought it was "nice and safe" to drive here.
She was heading to Franz Josef and had arrived in Christchurch for less than a day.
A police media spokeswoman said police dealt with the driver for the offence at the time and she is not driving for the remainder of her time in New Zealand. Another person in the car with a valid licence was able to drive the vehicle.
Despite a significant increase in visitor numbers to New Zealand over recent years, police say they have not seen a corresponding increase in serious incidents involving tourists.
