She is calling on the Government to increase safety measures before that happens.
"The point I'm making is let's not wait until there's a tragedy for us to spotlight this issue. We have got an issue here and we need to address it.''
While tourist drivers had not yet caused a fatal accident, many residents had experienced "near misses''.
"I worry about this ... it's a very dangerous time,'' she said.
With more visitors expected and roading projects on the peninsula, the scope for serious accidents was increasing, she said.
"This keeps me awake at night,'' she said.
"This is the issue I'm very concerned about because we haven't had a tragedy and I don't want to have one.''
The community board had successfully lobbied for more directional arrows but there needed to be more work done and more education provided to overseas visitors.
She pointed to the death of Oamaru 5-year-old Ruby Marris as a "watershed moment'' that should have woken the Government up to the need for more research into measures to reduce fatal accidents involving tourist drivers.
Chinese tourist Jing Cao crossed the centre line in his rented Ford Ranger on State Highway 1 near Moeraki on February 21, and smashed into the Marris family's station wagon.
Ruby died at the scene and her parents suffered serious injuries.
Ruby's sisters, Georgia (9) and Sophie (7), suffered moderate injuries.
Ms Garey said focusing on specific nationalities did not "add to the debate'' as more work needed to be done to educate all tourists who intended to drive on New Zealand's roads.
"The education side of it is really important and there needs to be an education campaign,'' she said.
"But it needs to be a multi-agency approach and the Government needs to listen to the likes of the AA.''
While the peninsula had a good record with tourist drivers, near misses did not contribute to the statistics and there was a "need to be proactive, not reactive''.
"It's a burning issue that needs to be addressed before the coming season,'' she said.
"Unless we have a more proactive approach, not just look at the places where there have been accidents but where there is also the potential, there will be a tragic accident.
"I implore the various agencies to be proactive and not just act after there has been an accident.''
More research needed to be done to identify measures that would prevent accidents involving tourists, she said.
"I'm not an expert but I have had experiences that would just make your hair stand.''
She raised the issue at last week's community board meeting and had raised it with local police officers.
