A German couple were left shaken and upset after allegedly being threatened by a man wielding a screwdriver during a road-rage incident in Dunedin yesterday.
A police spokeswoman said a 27-year-old Dunedin man was arrested and charged with disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence following the incident in Portobello Rd.
German tourist Patrick Schutz (28) said he and his partner Anja Timpe (23) were subjected to a barrage of abuse after the driver of a car travelling behind them decided they were driving too slowly.
''We were driving on the road maybe a little bit slow and the car behind was following very close.
''Overtaking was very risky but he did it anyway.''
Mr Schutz said he crashed into the overtaking vehicle when the driver braked heavily after passing him.
Following the minor crash, the overtaking vehicle continued on.
''We followed him to get his details and then he suddenly stopped and tried to break into the window.''
The couple locked all the van's doors after the man who was ''going crazy'' allegedly threw rocks at their vehicle.
The man appeared to ''calm down'' and had a phone call, but Mr Schutz claimed after a couple of minutes he ran at their vehicle with what appeared to be a screwdriver.
He allegedly attempted to slash the vehicle's tyres as the couple escaped to the next bay.
''We were scared.
''When we called the police we thought maybe he would hit us with his car,'' Mr Shutz
said.
The police spokeswoman said a man would appear in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.
No weapon was recovered.
The couple planned to continue driving for the final week of their six-week trip in New Zealand.
