The initiative, a trial of delivering audio safety messages to rental car drivers on the key route between Queenstown and Christchurch, was announced on Saturday by Transport Minister Simon Bridges and associate minister Craig Foss.
The trial by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), with HMI Technologies and GO Rentals, involves safety messages being sent from roadside transmitters to devices fitted in up to 50 rental vehicles.
They will be used in remote locations where there is no cellphone coverage and the devices will receive more than 70 audio messages along the route, ranging from safety reminders about road conditions and New Zealand road rules to travel times and suggestions about good places to break the journey.
Approached for comment yesterday, Rental Vehicle Association chief executive Barry Kidd said if the trial was successful, it would be a valuable tool in a range of safety initiatives.
"None of those initiatives will work on their own - no one thing is the total solution,'' he said.
"However, the cumulative effect of several initiatives is already having a positive effect on overseas drivers and their awareness of New Zealand driving conditions, so this will add to that.''
Mr Bridges said the technology had the potential to "improve the safety and resilience of our existing transport network''.
If it was successful, the initiative might be implemented in other parts of the country.
The trial did not specifically target visiting drivers but NZTA would assess whether the service could be added to its suite of safety measures, Mr Foss said in a press release.
"This technology has the potential to improve safety outcomes in remote locations, which are drawcards for many overseas visitors.
"If the trial is successful, a second step could be to create a mobile phone application that allows communication with the vehicle's internal audio system, making the initiative more accessible to all road users,'' Mr Foss said.
The NZTA was also looking at integrating the system with a vehicle's GPS system.
