Southbound New Zealand State Highway 1, Auckland Harbour Bridge & Central Motorway Junction

[@thomasbaird8781]

Fantastic. Had no idea New Zealand's roads looked so alike to the ones in the United States.

[@adryantai9867]

Yes they are very the same it has a UK US feel becoz our country has adopted both life styles as an English country ourselves we have also adopted the school system too

[@CycloneSakura]

@@your_mother_likes_geography I also noticed the NZ signs use a Similar Font to ours if not the same

[@Freewayjim]

What a great stretch of road, that bridge just comes out of nowhere, at least that's the sense I get on video. Very cool stuff here, song worked really well too, 5*

[@kittymyers2006]

@Freewayjim I dunno about kitty myers vs Restricted Mode on bad Guilly

[@JJAcrosstheUSA]

It has an American feel to it, except for the driving on the left part. Nice job!! Can't wait to see more!!

[@WayToManyAssassins]

It does remind me of seattle too very much!

[@austinnelson396]

Cairo M Exactly what I was thinking! And I live 100 miles south of Seattle

[@FreewayBrent]

@@WayToManyAssassins As someone who has been to Seattle probably 50x and knows the city like the back of my hand, Auckland *does* have some strong similarities to Seattle.

[@paulawilliams5038]

Nice video I love that bridge. This was a very peaceful video.

[@maconian]

Amazing to finally see such a high-quality video of the motorway that I grew up on! A relaxing clip to watch when thinking about home while studying abroad :) Looking forward to the next one!

[@FreewayBrent]

Hey there, thank you! Yeah, I'm aiming to release something sometime next month, again featuring Auckland. I have a song picked out already, but I need a full day at a coffee house to create the signs, come up with the annotations and put everything together. But, it's definitely coming.

[@FreewayBrent]

Update: I released a new video 2 weeks ago, showcasing the Waterview Tunnel & Connection in Auckland, if you want to check it out. Cheers!

[@edkollin]

That ride validates the good reputation New Zealand has

[@kittymyers2006]

Welcome to my first video from New Zealand! Today, we'll head southerly on State Highway 1 into the city of Auckland. Enjoy the video!

[@lhkeroads3632]

Auckland and New Zealand in general is a marvelous place and a gem, stupendous video of SH 1 in Auckland Brent!

[@FreewayBrent]

Thank you! I have enough footage for 4 more videos from Auckland, including an interchange tour of the Central Motorway Junction. Just a matter of having enough time in my busy schedule to edit the footage. Next video will probably be out before Christmas. Thanks for watching!

[@schwenda3727]

DAMN! just thumbed through United's YT initially excited about a potentially dedicated NZ roadgeek, but another person's take from out west should be interesting, too!

[@brunelljj]

What an awesome video and an awesome view! Thank you for sharing this.

[@FreewayBrent]

Thanks! Never thought in a million years that I'd have 4 different countries on my channel.

[@kittymyers2006]

Alright, that's it for the video! Stay tuned for more Auckland and New Zealand videos coming in the future. As always, thanks for watching! See you next time, and goodbye!

[@assaultislove]

Great video! The signs are very American in style and Auckland looks a lot like the San Francisco Bay Area.

[@WayToManyAssassins]

Cabalen Travels! Wellington is very similar to San Fran. Hilly. Compact, has the metropolitan suburbs like lower and upper hurt just like the bay area.

[@FreewayBrent]

Indeed! You can thank the San Francisco-based engineering firm, Wilbur Smith & Associates, for the similarity in roadway design. They played a major role in helping Caltrans in the 60's & 70's...surprise, surprise, they also did the same when NZ was designing Auckland's first motorways during the same time period. It's also why the Wellington Motorway also looks California-like. And yes, the location by the water and the hilly nature of the city does give off a Bay Area-like feel.

[@rockersk08]

Very cool indeed, especially that view of Auckland. You have four countries under your belt for road vids now, kudos to you Brent!

[@eluko79]

Fun video Brent. Auckland is a gem of a city! It has some of the most interesting interchanges I've come across.

[@FreewayBrent]

Dude. How did I miss this comment of yours? Sorry man. Guess I really have been *that* busy. Also, I still need to complete watching your Cleveland video along I-480. That freeway is a sweet ride!

[@FreewayBrent]

Dude. How did I miss this comment of yours? Sorry man. Guess I really have been *that* busy. Also, I still need to complete watching your Cleveland video along I-480. That freeway is a sweet ride!

[@kittymyers2006]

@@FreewayBrent I'm still waiting for a video from the Fiji Islands

[@antipgh]

Boring video Brent. Auckland is a trash excuse of a city! It has some of the worst interchanges I've come across

[@samdekker90]

Being a kiwi this was cool to watch! The Motorways in Auckland and Wellington feel a lot like a roller coaster ride, especially through the CMJ. I live in Perth and here the roads are just long, straight and flat, and a long way travel to. But if you’re ever over here, they’re in the process of slowly converting some urban lengths of at-grade highway into freeway standard road, which will make for a decent little freeway network around Perth in the future.

[@FreewayBrent]

Hey, thanks! A bunch of comments that I haven't responded to yet on this video, yours included. I actually have enough footage for 5 more Auckland-area videos. The project I'm most looking forward to working on is the Central Motorway Junction tour video. Just a matter of finding the time to work on the footage. As for Perth, I am very interested in checking out the Kwiwana and Mitchell Freeways...in particular, the interchange between those 2 freeways and the Graham Farmer Freeway looks especially intriguing. Completely reminds me of 1970's-era California freeway engineering. Thanks for watching!

[@samdekker90]

Yep that interchange is definitely the most impressive part of our freeways. Just don't take the Mitchell north in the PM rush hour. Despite the lane additions and adjustments they keep making, you have all lanes crawling at a stop-start speed for most of its length

[@camilleli1032]

Makes me want to visit Auckland. Terrific road trip.

[@jgroenveld1268]

Apparently the old MOT (Ministry of Transport) now NZTA (New Zealand Transport Agency) had adopted many of the American signage from Caltrans in the 1970s.

[@berl2343]

J Groenveld caltrans was one of the best depts of transportation (for the us) back in the day

[@jessedevonshire9085]

Transit NZ was the predecessor of NZTA. Also NZ adopted Australian signage not American.

[@berl2343]

@@jessedevonshire9085 look at the exit signs and design of the roads they are american styled but yeah they adopted some Australian signage

[@TheSolarcatcher]

Nice drive Brent. That is an interesting interchange at the end.

[@204trebor]

The millage signs (ie 0:25) are precised (ie 2.1 km instead of 2 km.

[@LondonUnderground186]

We have these kind of signs in British Columbia (Canada) mostly in urban areas like Metro Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna or Prince George as well. Unlike all other provinces where distances are announced like 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 km in urban areas... here in BC you can also see a distance in km with a decimal

[@2016Ford]

New Zealand road sgins have the American feel but driving on the left side of the road

[@bouteilledeau1463]

And yet there are also Europpean signs like the speed limit.

[@PalmyGarbo]

Also There Are Some Monash Freeway Signs

[@davidmcclellan9621]

New Zealanders are doing absolutely nothing wrong with driving their motor vehicles on the left side of the road, highway, or both.

[@kittymyers2006]

@@davidmcclellan9621 New Zealand has left-hand traffic.

[@johntrooper98]

Lol same with australia, japan,ireland

[@leroyybrown]

That's epic, might have to visit Auckland soon

[@lukew67]

leroyybrown it's a great place with a great highway system. Minus rush hour

[@Andy-uz7ct]

Amazing Tour.

[@FreewayBrent]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed watching. I also have a video of the Waterview Tunnel and Connection in Auckland, if you want to watch. Cheers!

[@Andy-uz7ct]

@@FreewayBrent I also watched this video and enjoyed it!

[@wotsup9oo]

Beautiful footage and edition

[@FreewayBrent]

Thank you very much! Did you get a chance to check out my other Auckland area video, the Waterview Tunnel? Think you'd enjoy that one as well.

[@RoadTubeRichard]

Great work Brent! Good to finally see a video in Auckland! Can't wait for what's in store next!

[@cookzy3217]

I love the way these roads are almost exactly the same in signage as USA

[@darnelljones8635]

Sick wid it vid. Looks like America.

[@dengamesofficial5119]

Thanks for doing a video on my Favorite Road/Highway :D

[@FreewayBrent]

Thanks for watching! My 2nd Auckland video should be released sometime next month. Wish I could put these videos out sooner, but I've been busy as of late.

[@kittymyers2006]

Matthew William a timelapse maker chain from New Zealand.

[@lukew67]

Great video. How do you like Auckland? Weird to see my homeland on a video of yours especially the motorway I drive down so often when visiting. Looking forward to future videos. Especially the Waterview tunnel I drove on opening day a few months ago and was very impressed and certainly improves the motorway network in Auckland to be world class.

[@WayToManyAssassins]

Luke W The waterview tunnel eased traffic so much.

[@lukew67]

Cairo Murphy sure did best road ever for Auckland you can actually drive on it in rush hour

[@FreewayBrent]

I like Auckland a lot. Ponsonby, Parnell, Newmarket, Wynyard Quarter, Britomart, the Chinese foodie scene in Mt. Eden along Dominion Road, Kingsland, St. Heliers, Mission Bay, Takapuna and definitely more districts I'm forgetting about...quite honestly, the city as a whole has a Seattle-like feel to it in many ways. I haven't yet been to Wellington and it seems like Wellington is the more favored city of the two within the country, but I'm a big fan of Auckland. Big enough to be a major city with lots of things to do, but small enough to where it doesn't feel overwhelmingly busy by any means.

[@kushantaiidan]

awesome video and an awesome view!

[@kittymyers2006]

We are now heading onto the Auckland Harbour Bridge, across the Waitemata Harbor. This is an 8-lane motorway bridge, and is the longest bridge on New Zealand's North Island.

[@MrSniperFromMars]

Man, you don't know how excited I was to see this in my subscription feed! Awesome ride and what a great view of the CBD and the Harbour! Everything seems very similar to North America, except you're driving on the wrong side ;)

[@FreewayBrent]

Haha, yeah. It's even *more* similar to driving in the US than even Australia. Especially with the identical exit tabs. This is one of those rides where there really isn't a dull moment, with a bit of a "wow" factor thrown in, so I knew I'd have to feature it as soon as I got back home. Glad you enjoyed. Cheers!

[@WayToManyAssassins]

They're aren't as many lanes on the freeways though. For the most part.

[@MrSniperFromMars]

Well, there are a lot of bigger cities in the US. Auckland has 1.3 million people, so you can't expect Los Angeles amounts of lanes.

[@jgroenveld1268]

Yeah most motorways here in Auckland generally have 2-3 lanes each side. To be rather blunt - we just can't afford it. However saying that, we do I believe when compared to other countries I have visited, do maintain what motorways we have pretty well.

[@WayToManyAssassins]

+J Groenveld No it's about 3-5. 2 when there is an overpass coming up. We can afford it bill english just said the government has 11 billion in surplus spending.

[@lucafaraoni236]

What a perfect road pavement! So smooth, not a single pothole... I live in Italy, I can't tell the same for our roads. Lmao

[@FreewayBrent]

Oh yeah, for the most part, the pavement quality on Auckland's motorway system is almost flawless. Definitely a nice change of a pace from the pothole city experience I'm used to, back here on (some) of California's freeways.

[@jeremyc6471]

I have spend a couple of weeks in Auckland over the past few years their motorways are a incredibly high standard road with non complicated signage. I know the Southern Motorway just as well as the M1 East (Monash freeway and Citylink to Warrigal Road) and the M3 Eastlink in Melbourne. The only thing that could improve them is a Motorway Management System which they only have for about a kilometre either side of SH16/SH18 interchange. But otherwise the roads in Auckland are excellent. Wellington's Urban Motorway is also terrific.

[@FreewayBrent]

Hey there! Thanks for watching and for commenting. Auckland was long on my list of cities to drive around, and had a really pleasant experience during my visits in both August and September. Especially impressive, since the country doesn't even have 5 million people, and yet somehow came up with the funds to widen Highway 16, build the Waterview Tunnel and complete Highway 20. Love the almost identical US standards (signage and road markings), and the fact that their motorways are nearly 100% free of any potholes. The Southern Motorway's concrete overpasses look like something straight out of a 1960's California playbook on how to construct freeways. I suppose that's no surprise, since the San Francisco-based Wilbur Smith And Associates engineering firm, one of the primary civil engineering companies responsible for helping Caltrans (then known as the Division of Highways) to design many of their freeways in the 1960's and 1970's, also helped New Zealand with designing their first freeways. Hence, the *very* California-like look and feel. The same company also helped design many of Australia's older freeways. I have enough footage for 4 more Auckland-area videos. I'm currently short on time, but I'll be getting back to my video editing in the 2nd half of March. I'm sure you've already seen them, but I have a few videos up from Melbourne as well, if you haven't checked them out yet. Thanks!

[@AlecDenston]

Really cool, weird to see American signage but driving on the left with some regular European signs.

[@kittymyers2006]

FreewayBrent Intro 0:01 FreewayBrent Presenter For Video 0:08 NZ-1, Auckland Inbound (Start) 0:16 Auckland Harbour Bridge 1:36 Driving Into Downtown 2:22 South Leaving Downtown Auckland Quickly 3:03 End Credits 3:37

[@aliaksandran6300]

VERY NICE VIEWS

[@kittymyers2006]

This is the Central Auckland Motorway Junction. Sit back and enjoy the ride out of downtown!

[@Ronson2k9]

Awesome ride along. Been looking forward to this for awhile as well. Song has a real Beach Boys feel to it. Making it seem like LA but just a wee bit west of there :-D Keep up the great work looking forward to part 2

[@lukew67]

Ron Foskett and always rainier than LA *this is one about 5 winter days it didn't rain clearly lol

[@luvcarsgay]

Great stuff!

[@MrJamesgrate]

Wow, that was spectacular, the quality was most absolutely fantastic. When you crossed the bridge and captured the skyline that was beautiful.. What is the average mph on that highway, when you jumped to normal video speed, it seemed as if you were moving at 15 mph. Thanks for the recommendation...

[@FreewayBrent]

Auckland drivers are a pretty laid back bunch. Generally speaking, they'll do the equivalent of 55-65 MPH (some going 70) in the 100 km/h (62 MPH) zones, and about 50-60 in the 80 km/h (50 MPH) zones. It appears I'm driving super slow, due to the aspect ratio of the camcorder. Cheers!

[@MrJamesgrate]

Thanks for your informational respond!!!

[@dallasfrost1996]

Agreed, that view of the AKL skyline right after the harbor bridge was perfection!

[@kittymyers2006]

This section is called the Northern Auckland Motorway.

[@reoswedewagon1651]

He's back!

[@kittymyers2006]

Did you know Brent? In Australia and New Zealand, you drive on the left side, and in the USA and Canada, you drive on the right side. Most countries on Earth drive on the right side, which leaves 1 third that drives on the left side. India and Pakistan drive on the left, and France and Algeria drive on the right.

[@LondonUnderground186]

All of Europe drive on the right side of the road except the UK and Ireland (Northern Ireland and Eire)

[@kittymyers2006]

@@LondonUnderground186 Thank you so much for the comment!

[@kittymyers2006]

I forgot Malta and Cyprus drive on the left, too.

[@jrtej9575]

Did you find it hard to get used to driving a car with right hand drive?

[@FreewayBrent]

To be honest, not at all. I pretty much jumped in, turned on the key and off I went. No issues after racking up about 10,000 kilometres of driving on the left side of the road in both Australia and New Zealand combined.

[@jrtej9575]

@@FreewayBrent thank you for the reply, and your videos, so I could see these places that I otherwise will never see.

[@TransCanadaPhil]

Nice Drive Brent! Planning on seeing an All Blacks game while in NZ? :-D

[@WeatherSTARIII]

Nice intro and tour! The sound from the intro by the way, was the Windows Vista (a.k.a. Codename: "Longhorn") beta startup sound.

[@anditsme2891]

As an aucklander out west, im so happy with the sh20 tunnel being built as I hated going around spaghetti junction as it was always packed and also spending up to 2-3hours in traffic on good days [which we all hope for] to and from work between west and south, and the suburban roads were just as bad too many friggin lights and traffic, the tunnel alternative for westies heading southwestern side of south aucks is so much better

[@FreewayBrent]

Did you happen to watch my video of the Waterview Tunnel? I think you'd enjoy it a lot. Cheers!

[@anditsme2891]

@@FreewayBrent I did thanks, thats how I managed to get to this clip, great channel! ... ps I had a quick squiz around and really liked your Seattle clips, looks like a nice place

[@FreewayAllan]

Great Brent ! Good choice music !

[@FreewayBrent]

Thank you sir! I'm finally working on my 2nd Auckland video. Hoping to get it out by the end of the week. Cheers!

[@FreewayAllan]

FreewayBrent, I have my KZbin Channel. You can subscribe :-)

[@UriahD85]

This video called trappin in japan covers alot of Japanese highways

[@bmasters1981]

One thing I wonder-- you were going south on NZ SH 1, so why did the exit numbers increase? Here in America, exit numbers increased north and east, and decreased vice versa.

[@FreewayBrent]

This seems to be the case in Australia as well. I'm not sure why both New Zealand and Australia number their exits opposite of how the US and Canada does it.

[@MKTTransportVideos]

It says 'to be continued' - have you done any more? :D

[@FreewayBrent]

Hey there! Unfortunately, this is the last video that I worked on. Life has been busy, but I plan on finally getting back into the groove of things in May! Next video will indeed be from Auckland, but as to which route, I'm going to keep as a surprise. :-)

[@FreewayBrent]

I released a new video from Auckland 2 weeks ago, showcasing the Waterview Tunnel & Connection (State Highway's 16 & 20), if you want to check it out. Cheers!

[@arrivingone]

You should make a video of the waterview tunnel.

[@porirvian8457]

He's already filmed it. :D

[@FreewayBrent]

Got it on video. Just a matter of working on the footage! I have a song already pre-selected for it...not 100% convinced I want to keep the song choice as its very pop-ish, but the artist is based out of Auckland, so it more or less works.

[@FreewayBrent]

Just released it 2 weeks ago, for your enjoyment!

[@jgroenveld1268]

2:30 that was close! You almost got off SH1 and entered SH16

[@FreewayBrent]

Definitely looked much closer on video than it was in person. I was just trying to be considerate and safe and not cut in front of the big truck or the other vehicles who passed me before I made my lane change, but I knew I had to get over. I just try to keep my space from other drivers.

[@berl2343]

For some reason I feel like SH 1 is being converted into expressway in some parts because in the future they plan to make it a full motorway.

[@tkara1980]

That is the long term goal. Should've been done long ago.

[@berl2343]

tkara1980 north island has made so much progress I believe Hwy 1 will be completed in north island first rather than South Island

[@dave11686]

Very cool!

[@FreewayBrent]

Indeed...that entire ride is quite a thrill with a bit of a "wow" factor. Thanks for watching, as always!

[@edwardmiessner6502]

That highway has an American feel to it, save for the driving on the left. Nice video and nice song!

[@FreewayBrent]

Not just an American feel, but a very California-like feel, primarily as you approach and drive through the Central Motorway Junction. Officials consulted with the same San Francisco-based engineering firm (now located in North Carolina), Wilbur Smith & Associates which helped Caltrans immensely during the 60's - 70's when designing the roadway, including the concrete overpasses that have that Caltrans-like quality to them. As for the song, the artist is actually native to New Zealand. Totally worked! The Aussie's know how to build some very American-like freeways as well. Got you covered there as well with this recently reconstructed freeway in Brisbane. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqSVfKyCd559sJo

[@LondonUnderground186]

I've traveled in every US states except Alaska, and all Canadian provinces except the Atlantic ones. Long haul truck driver. I can see the roads in NZ are way better maintained than our highways in North America. Some US states have clean-cut pavements like NV, ND or UT... some states have really shitty Interstates like CA, TN, IN, MI... As a French citizen from Paris, I like the way NZ adopted an "hybrid" road signage system... North American style for the directions and European style for the speed limits and other warnings. It's interesting to see the main highways in NZ has a route logo kind of similar like the US Interstate shields, except the NZ ones are flat on the top and in one background colour

[@FreewayBrent]

New Zealand definitely gets much of its influences on road design from the United States. In fact, its very first motorways were designed by US planning firm, WIlbur Smith & Associates, which helped Caltrans and various other DOT's with setting design standards, such as overpass design, lane markings, signage and more. The same firm was also paramount in freeway design around the urban areas of Australia. Pretty interesting stuff. So, when you're driving on a New Zealand motorway, you may as well be driving an American freeway.

[@yasin199768]

Nicht mal Deutschland hat solch krasse Gebäude 😂

[@gazeversions]

Hey FreewayBrent when are you making new videos

[@FreewayBrent]

Thanks for checking in. I'm currently busy, but I should have a lot more free time, starting in early March. Have a couple more videos lined up with songs already chosen; just a matter of creating the signs and putting the footage together.

[@FreewayBrent]

I released a brand new video 2 weeks ago of the Waterview Tunnel & Connection in Auckland, if you want to check it out!

[@Conmanthompson2_Christmas]

1:18 Similar Gantry Then Uk

[@dallasfrost1996]

Californian styled.

[@Conmanthompson2_Christmas]

@@dallasfrost1996 i know

[@kylieryan7510]

When you start you are around gulf harbour

[@FreewayBrent]

Yup yup. I originally wanted to start the video a couple of interchanges further back to the north, but the length of the song and how and when I wanted to synchronize the footage meant that I had to start the video where I did. Thanks for watching! Hoping to get my 2nd Auckland video released next month.

[@idriveastationwagon1534]

their highways look like america on mirror mode (only mario kart fans will get this reference)

[@gazeversions]

Hey FreewayBrent you should do driving in Montana State United States of America

[@FreewayBrent]

Maybe! My sister-in-law lives in Spokane, and I live in San Francisco. We did a day trip out to Missoula, so Montana is def. a possibility in the future.

[@tjgaming3225]

Auckland has lots of motorways but the rest of New Zealand dosint

[@tjgaming3225]

Hello

[@tkara1980]

It's slowly changing.

[@tjgaming3225]

Yea

[@johnjames8707]

Look like USA highway except Km instead miles

[@bouteilledeau1463]

2:30

[@kenith8800]

use the left lane unless overtaking someone once youve overtaken them move left again

[@FreewayBrent]

Do you mean towards the end of the vehicle? After passing the big truck around the NZ Highway 16 interchange, I wanted to move over a bit earlier, but there was a car 2 lanes over just behind the camcorder's field of sight...didn't want to risk a side-swipe collison if we both changed lanes at the same time, so I kept driving a bit more until there was 100% clearance to make a safe lane change. Also, there wasn't anyone behind me, so I wasn't holding anyone up. Spatial awareness keeps you accident free. :-)

[@FreewayBrent]

@@thegregorycolin2335 Interesting. How come just about everyone in Auckland utilizes the middle lane for cruising then while driving with the flow of traffic? Genuinely curious; it seems rather inefficient to move over left, only to have to merge moments later merge back to the right to accommodate for merging traffic from the interchange. Makes much more sense to keep all the way left when interchanges are spaced much further apart and traffic volumes are lighter, or when you're moving below the flow.

[@FreewayBrent]

@@thegregorycolin2335 ​ The thing is that when interchanges come up every 3/4 to 1 mile, it's inefficient (and if traffic is fairly heavy) and even a bit unsafe to keep changing lanes repeatedly (thus slowing everyone else down who is already going with the flow) to accommodate slower moving traffic and cars entering the motorway at every interchange. Merging over to the far left (since we're specifically talking about New Zealand and Auckland in particular) and staying out there makes much more sense when interchanges are spaced several miles apart and traffic volumes are low. In a country like Germany where many rural autobahns have interchanges spaced sometimes 5-10 kilometres apart and most autobahns are only 2 to 3 lanes in each direction (in rarer cases, 4 lanes or more), it makes far more sense to stick to the far right unless approaching slower traffic. But here in the US, it's almost pointless if you're keeping up with the general flow of traffic in the middle lanes to change lanes every 10-15 seconds, as interchanges come up every 30 seconds to 1 minute in most urban environments. Couple that with heavy traffic volumes, and it becomes a challenge to repeatedly keep changing lanes. In the end, changing lanes repeatedly here in the US often means you're just slowing down everyone else unless you really punch it. Here in the United States, we have 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and even 22 lane monsters and interchanges are often every 1 mile or so. Plus, traffic densities are often quite high on many of the busiest freeways. I don't think anyone expects a driver to keep switching lanes repeatedly here in the US...if you're driving faster than the flow, it's expected that you stay out towards the left (while keeping the left-most lane open for passing)...it's actually considered to be more of a hazard and annoyance here in the US to repeatedly keep changing multiple lanes back and forth every single minute...it's about predictability. If you're driving slower, stick to the far right lane(s). The main thing Americans care about is keep the passing lanes open for those wanting to drive much faster. Along rural sections of freeway here in the US where interchanges are spaced much more apart and traffic volumes are much lower, sticking to the right is generally much more observed and adhered to (much like what you suggested in your response above). Since New Zealand (and Auckland in particular) opted for largely US-freeway design (and even hired California-based Wilbur Smith & Associates to plan their first motorways), drivers there tend to have similar freeway driving habits as Americans. Closely spaced interchanges (every 1 to 1 1/2 kilometres) means that, much like in the US, the middle lanes are for those keeping up with the general flow, the far-left lane is for the slowest traffic and for those entering/exiting the motorway, while the far-right lane is largely for passing only.

[@FreewayBrent]

@@thegregorycolin2335 The reason I didn't change lanes is that the next interchange was a kilometre down the road, and it's an interchange where traffic frequently merges onto the freeway. What you can't see behind me in the video is a long traffic wave of many other vehicles. If I merge left, and traffic is entering the freeway, I wouldn't be able to easily merge back right. Sure, if the interchange was another 3 or 4 kilometres down the freeway or if I was driving slower than the flow of traffic, I'd move over. Not sure why that's such a big deal to you, since I'm simply driving with the flow of everyone else in the lane and not holding anyone up. Go ahead and observe everyone else in the video from the beginning to where the bridge starts. Where are all the masses of drivers in the middle lane merging over to the left? Oh...that's right, they aren't. So I guess Kiwi's in general are terrible drivers? Seems perfectly fine and logical to me...fastest moving traffic sticks to the right, folks driving the average speed sticks to the middle and those wanting to get off the freeway, enter or driver slow(er) sticks to the left. It sounds more like you have an issue with the way Kiwi's drive in general, and not really my driving since I'm pretty much just driving the way the average Kiwi drives. Not sure why it bothers you, since I find Kiwi's in general to be friendly, laid back drivers. By the way, one of my fellow video producers over in Europe drives a lengthy section of freeway in the Netherlands with at least 4-5 lanes in each direction, and from 11:10 onwards where the freeway widens out to at least 5 lanes in each direction, you don't see people switching lanes repeatedly. Pretty much driving like how the Americans do it...slow traffic sticks to the right, thru-traffic going with the flow sticks to the middle lanes and the left lane is reserved for passing only. Right here in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3KxmHeIgdSAjMk

[@FreewayBrent]

@@thegregorycolin2335 I actually don't care about whatever points you have at this point. Agree to disagree. I've driven over 1 million miles over the course of 23 years in a multitude of countries with zero tickets or accidents...in fact, haven't even been hit yet. Takes more than just luck for that to be the case...requires a lot of spatial awareness and understanding how everyone's driving and how one's driving impacts others on the road. Sorry but this channel is really more about showcasing road infrastucture, not nitpicking and circling the wagon over people's driving habits.

[@therosijedha]

New Zealand has freeways just like the US. Oh, you copycat!

[@WayToManyAssassins]

The transport agency actually copied off America during the 1960's when our first freeways were built, not europe so it would be very similar.

[@therosijedha]

Cairo M I commented that almost a year ago ;-;

[@dcarr77sig]

Windows longhorn

[@darrenmeiissayoumumdonn-wa1933]

Auckland can Yes Tauranga 1

[@MegaSimon54321]

Use the left lane until you need to pass someone overtake them then move back to the left again don’t just sit in the middle or the right

[@FreewayBrent]

This is what you got from the entire video is my driving? I have 20 years of driving with zero tickets or accidents in 5 countries after approximately 1.6 million kilometres of driving, LOL. I'm simply driving with the flow in the middle lanes, keeping up with traffic like most people do, leaving the left lane(s) open for vehicles merging onto the freeway. Right lane from 3:03 until towards the end of the video, because I was actively passing and being the fastest driver, not to mention someone from the left lanes from the CMJ had merged into the lane adjacent to mine, so I couldn't safely merge over until the end of the video. By the way, you shouldn't merge back over *until* you have created a decent amount of space (let's say at least 1 1/2 seconds of space from the vehicle you're going to merge in front of, as it's both safe and courteous to not just cut them off), *and* there's no one in the lanes adjacent to the one you're merging back into, as you want to minimize or eliminate the chances of being side-swiped. Plus, I'm passing a big rig at 3:22 and it's much easier for drivers in a big rig to see you in their mirrors, if you pass them on their right as opposed to their left. All of this while not blocking anyone trying to go faster, as no one was actively behind me trying to drive faster (hence, I'm not what you call a "right lane hog" or blocker. All of this is called situational awareness. You don't change lanes and crash into someone, just because you need to not "sit in the middle or right", as you state.

[@dehechenka]

yanks think everything looks like USA. only road sign r the same the rest is polar different

[@WayToManyAssassins]

Doni Habib Nurmagamedov Khrosoni hahaha the roads are a different colour too.

[@dehechenka]

Cairo Murphy exactly bro

[@FreewayBrent]

I'd say they actually do look American-like. In fact...not just American-like, but California-like. Most of the overpass designs on NZ State Highway 1 through Auckland are basically a cut & copy of California from the 60's and 70's. The same engineering consulting firm (San Francisco-based Wilbur Smith & Associates) that helped the California Department of Transportation design California's freeways in the 60's-70's, also played a major role in designing Auckland's first freeways, as well as the Wellington Motorway.

[@dehechenka]

FreewayBrent bollocks