Taken from my old local newspaper - can not believe it !!
It defies belief but a tourist thought it best to tie his kayak side-ways across his car roof to drive through Coromandel's busy rural roads.To make matters worse, the Irish driver could not see the danger in such an unorthodox method."... The driver was unrepentant telling the officer that stopped him that if he secured the kayak long-ways as he is supposed to it would cause damage to the roof of his car," Inspector Freda Grace of Waikato District police said.Police pulled the tourist over on SH25A between Kopu and Hikuai on Sunday afternoon. Grace said it was a winding rural road, with traffic even busier than usual in summer. "To make matters worse the Tairua officer was already on her way to a vehicle crash and this driver's behaviour could very easily have caused another."Imagine if he's encountered a cyclist driving like this?," the incredulous police said in a statement today, accompanied by a photo of the blue kayak extending well over the sides of the car.At this time of year eight out of 10 motorists travelling on Coromandel roads were likely to be visitors from out of the region and at the weekend overseas tourists – one from Canada and one from Switzerland – were believed to have caused serious crashes in the Waikato region, she said.The crashes served as a timely reminder of the importance of all drivers to adhere to the road rules and to drive to the conditions.Police couldn't be reached to say whether the Irishman would be charged over the kayak incident."Imagine if he's encountered a cyclist driving like this?," the incredulous police said in a statement today, accompanied by a photo of the blue kayak extending well over the sides of the car.
