14 Mar 2014

Plea for tourists to sit driving tests

10:41 am on 14 March 2014

A nine-year-old Canterbury boy is campaigning for New Zealand's driving laws to be changed after his father was killed by a tourist.

Sean Roberts'w father Grant Roberts and another man died after a Chinese student's car collided with their motorcycles in November 2012.

The 20-year-old student had been in the country only for one day when the crash occurred on the Lindis Pass.

Sean's mother Melanie Pipson is backing her son and says the tragedy is that he did not have to lose his father.

She says people coming into New Zealand have totally different road rules in their own country and it was a totally preventable accident and a totally preventable death.

Ms Pipson says her son is organising a petition and a letter to send to the Transport Minister asking for a law change to ensure that tourists sit a practical driving test.

Sean Roberts says he would like to see tourists get some driving instruction.

"If they don't get instructions and if they can't drive," he says, "then how will they be safe on the roads and not crash?"