More than five thousand people have signed a petition calling on Queenstown's mayor to make rental car companies accountable for drivers

The region's had a spate of serious crashes, culminating in fed-up locals meeting with local authorities to call for serious change.

Petition organiser Peter Newport asks if you'd rent your own car to someone who didn't know our roads, was jet-lagged, and used to driving on the other side of the road.

He says if rental car companies are making money, they should take responsibility for their drivers' actions.