Police are cracking down on slow drivers impeding traffic on the West Coast.

Slow drivers in rental cars are causing frustration on South Island roads.

Police have been dealing with complaints about slow drivers causing traffic backlogs as Chinese New Year brings an influx of tourists to New Zealand.

Greymouth Sergeant Paul Watson said police were cracking down on drivers who held up traffic and sparked risky overtaking.

"Around Chinese New Year we have a lot of Asian drivers on the roads. They seem to land in Christchurch and jump in a rental car to do the great West Coast route."

READ MORE:

* Up to 33,000 Chinese visitors for year of the rooster celebrations

* Screening Chinese drivers dramatically reduces crashes

* Police crack down on slow drivers over busy holiday period

* Time to target slow drivers

* Kiwi drivers are inconsiderate – but there are solutions

Police had received several complaints about visitors driving "really slowly and not pulling over", he said.

"They are going 70kmh to 80kmh on the open road with a long line of traffic behind them. It causes people to get frustrated and take risks [like] overtaking dangerously."

Police were patrolling highways, pulling slow drivers over and educating them on the need to let others pass, Watson said.

"I drove over State Highway 73 on Friday and I dealt with quite a number of Asian drivers travelling very slowly. We ask Kiwi drivers for a wee bit of tolerance and to make sure they are reporting any issues of dangerous driving."

Slow and inconsiderate drivers were a problem on the roads year-round, but were more obvious with the increased summer and Chinese New Year holiday traffic.

Police can impose $150 fines and 20 demerit points on motorists who fail to allow impeded traffic to pass or fail to move into slow vehicle bays.

Tourism New Zealand expects up to 33,000 Chinese visitors to arrive during the two weeks of Chinese New Year celebrations. With an average spend of $5000 per head, they could inject up to $165 million into the local economy.

AA spokesman Simon Douglas said tourism from China was "booming" this summer.

"We had 450,000 Chinese tourists arrive in New Zealand in the last 12 months, overtaking both the US and UK arrivals. It's undoubtable we will see more Chinese drivers on the roads particularly around Chinese New Year."

November 14's Kaikoura earthquake, which caused significant damage to State Highway 1, had put more pressure on alternative routes in the South Island.

Many visitors – not just those from China, but also those from North Island – were not used to driving conditions in the South Island, he said.

They were also not used to roads that were not designed for such high traffic volumes, and were often in vehicles they were not used to either, like campervans.

"The last thing we want to do is tell these people to speed up. They should drive at a speed they are comfortable with, but they also need to drive courteously and that includes moving to the left and letting queues of traffic past."

The NZ Transport Agency and the Rental Vehicle Association New Zealand had done good work educating tourists about driving safely in New Zealand, Douglas said.

Many rental car companies had signed up to a voluntary code that prompted staff to question tourists and refuse to rent a car to anyone they believed was not capable of driving safely.

* Comments on this story are now closed.