20 must-know scenarios for visitors
Renting a car in New Zealand? A few local rules trip up almost every visitor — the give-way-when-turning rule, roundabout signalling, flush medians and cat's-eye reflectors. These 20 picture scenarios get you ready in about ten minutes.
Why this set
Driving in New Zealand is mostly intuitive — until it isn't. Roads are narrow and winding, many are unsealed, and a handful of rules work differently from what you're used to at home. Every year those same few situations cause confusion (and near-misses) for visitors.
So instead of asking you to study the whole Road Code before a holiday, we pulled the 20 scenarios that matter most on your first drives — the ones that are genuinely NZ-specific and easy to get wrong. Run through them once and you'll drive out of the rental yard a lot more confident.
How we chose the 20
We started from our full bank of 436 Road Code questions and narrowed it down deliberately:
- Visitor-relevant topics first. We focused on the areas a tourist actually meets in the first hour of driving: giving way, roundabouts, road position and merging, speed limits, key signs, pedestrians, changing conditions, and parking.
- Real scenarios, not definitions. We preferred picture-based questions that show a real situation — all 20 come with a diagram or photo — so you're reading the road, not memorising wording.
- NZ-specific over generic. Where a rule differs from most countries (give way when turning, roundabout signals, flush medians, cat's eyes), we kept it in.
- De-duplicated and balanced. We removed near-identical questions and spread the 20 across the themes below, so it's varied rather than ten give-way diagrams in a row.
What's inside
The 20 scenarios break down like this:
| Theme | Scenarios |
|---|---|
| Giving way & roundabouts | 5 |
| Road position, flush medians & merging | 3 |
| Changing conditions, cat's eyes & roadworks | 3 |
| Speed limits (including beaches) | 3 |
| Warning & information signs | 3 |
| Pedestrian signals | 2 |
| Parking & road markings | 1 |
A few you'll meet
- How you must signal when turning right at a roundabout.
- Whether you can use a flush median to wait while turning right.
- What a white cat's-eye reflector means — and how a yellow one differs.
- What a beach speed-limit sign means when there are people ahead.
- What to do when a pedestrian signal starts flashing red as you approach.
Get the official booklet
Want the full background? NZTA's official “Driving in New Zealand” guide is free, and it's written for visitors and new residents. Grab it in your language:
Booklets are the official NZTA / Waka Kotahi “Driving in NZ” guides. More languages are in the all-languages edition.
Take the 20
Ten minutes now saves a lot of hesitation at your first roundabout. Run the 20 scenarios free, with an explanation on every answer — no sign-up needed.
Start free →OpenTest is an independent study tool and isn't affiliated with NZTA / Waka Kotahi. Always follow current road signs and the official Road Code.