Nayland Smith, constable in the township of Omarama, said one man followed a tourist all the way to a hotel — filming the other car with his phone the entire time.
At the hotel, "he walked over to the [other driver's] vehicle, opened the door and took the keys out, telling the driver he could collect them from the police station," Smith said.
Although following a car and recording it with a cellphone camera sounds dangerous, it had its advantages. When police arrived on the scene, the driver was cited for failing to keep left, according to The Herald, and the person's authority to drive in New Zealand was revoked.
However, police are urging that drivers call *555 or 111 instead of making these versions of citizens' arrests. Authorities are concerned about the potential for altercations between drivers, and for good reason.
The confrontations have already turned violent. On Friday, a
driver approached a car and punched another driver — who was a tourist — in the face, before taking the keys.
The local head of road policing defended the tourist and called the incident a "nasty assault."
"It was a really innocuous incident in terms of driving that was not unsafe," the assistant commissioner said. "There was nothing in terms of dangerous driving."
In 2013, about 75% of injury car crashes in New Zealand were blamed on foreign drivers. Officials have tried to spread information about safe driving in the country, including adding placards in rental cars that reiterate the rules of the road.
Many locals have turned the blame on visiting Chinese drivers, potentially adding an element of xenophobia to the roadway conflicts.
As for the bad driving, authorities say that better education will lead to a solution, in addition to improved road signage.
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