A coroner is recommending motorcyclists avoid tinted visors at night after a teenage motorcyclist died in a late-night crash in North Auckland last year.
Phoenix Boltar, 17, died on the evening of October 30, 2024, in Dairy Flat, when his motorcycle collided with a grass embankment on a tight corner and launched him into a concrete power pole.
Minutes before the crash, Boltar was recorded speeding.
“A police officer travelling northbound recorded Phoenix’s speed at 96kmph in an area with a posted speed limit of 80kmph,” Coroner Ian Telford wrote in his report.
“The officer activated her lights and began a U-turn to follow Phoenix. As she did so, Phoenix accelerated away, and the officer lost sight of him. The pursuit was subsequently terminated.”
The Coroner described the moment Boltar encountered a “moderate right-hand bend,” which caused him to lose control.
“The motorcycle collided with a grass embankment at the roadside, launching both Phoenix and the bike into the air before striking a concrete power pole.”
The teenager received multiple blunt force injuries and died at the scene.
Boltar’s bike had no faults and he was sober at the time of the crash, however he was wearing a dark tinted visor and the road was poorly lit.
Father says ‘Phoenix made some bad decisions’
Coroner Telford included an excerpt from a letter written by Boltar’s father.
“Phoenix made some bad decisions that night, each error compounding the last,” his father Andre Boltar wrote.
“However, we believe the over-riding one which, if removed from the chain of events, would likely still have saved his life, is that he wore a dark-tinted visor that night.”
Telford agreed, noting Boltar’s visor may have prevented him from seeing the corner until it was too late.
“The New Zealand Transport Agency regularly promotes key messages about motorcycle road safety, including well-known advice on managing speed, staying attentive, and wearing appropriate safety gear,” he wrote.
“However, Phoenix’s case draws attention to a perhaps less widely known aspect of this guidance: that dark or tinted glasses, visors or goggles should never be worn while riding at night.”
rnz.co.nz