Atrocious driver can still drive

Police are confident a honeymooning tourist who reportedly drove on the wrong side of the road, including on blind corners, will not have the ability to drive despite technically being able to.

The tourist was locked up by Queenstown police on Tuesday and charged with dangerous driving.

A police media spokesman said the tourist would not be able to hire another car as he had turned his passport over to police. Rental car companies had also been notified of the individual and his driving.

Sergeant Chris Brooks, of Queenstown, said the 26-year-old man was first reported to police on Sunday when other drivers became concerned about his erratic driving near Hari Hari on the West Coast and was arrested by Queenstown police on the Crown Range Rd about midday on Tuesday.

‘‘It’s not often you arrest someone for driving but it was so bad we put him into a police car and brought him back here [police station],’’ Brooks said.

‘‘If they [witnesses] hadn’t rung in, he would have hurt somebody.’’

Witnesses claimed the man continually crossed the centre line ‘‘numerous times’’ before being reported as driving on the wrong side of the road while following another vehicle heading in the same direction, Brooks said.

One witness told police it was ‘‘atrocious driving’’ and made her ‘‘feel sick’’, he said.

The man surrendered his passport to police and was charged on two counts of dangerous driving. However, he was not forbidden from driving, Brooks said.

The man’s new wife accompanied him to the police station, he said.- Fairfax NZ