A shuttle bus driver says he and his passengers were “centimetres” from a potentially fatal collision on the road to Whakapapa ski field, after two cars attempted risky overtakes on a blind stretch yesterday morning.
Dashcam footage of the incident provided to 1News shows two vehicles overtaking the bus on Bruce Rd at around 9.20am on Saturday.
A Volkswagen Golf can be seen narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with an oncoming Mercedes, cutting back in front of the bus at the last second.
“I thought, this is it – we’re gonna hit something or we’re gonna be hit,” Ruapehu Scenic Shuttles owner operator Colin Baker told 1News.
“The video doesn’t really do it justice of how close it was, centimetres would be the best way to describe it. If the V-dub had come in a little bit tighter, I could have easily hit the side of it and pushed it into the path of the other vehicle.
“The Prius, I could see the white car in the distance, and I thought, well, that’s going to be close. But when that Golf came through, there was no way in hell they were going to make that. This guy just absolutely committed himself to a kamikaze move with the Mercedes that was coming down.”
Baker said after speaking with other drivers in the area that it was the closest anybody had come to a crash this winter season.
“It seems to be quite a frequent occurrence, but this ranks at the top for stupidity.”
Part of the problem was city drivers not used to open roads, he said.
“It’s that fact of the big, wide open road, and people tend to not expect something there, and with the ski field road in the morning, the case of an ‘everyone’s going up and no one’s coming down’ mentality.”
However, small infrastructure changes could potentially help to reduce the risk by making drivers think before they act, he added.
“A few years ago, at a transport meeting, I remember saying that we need some yellow paint on that section below Scoria Flat into that corner to make people think twice before they do any overtaking through there.
“If they overtake you on the double yellow, it’s an open and shut case, no excuses of ‘you were going too slow, that’s why we overtook you’.”
His message for the motorists who overtook him was blunt.
“Thank you for the stone chips you just put across the front of my windscreen, pal. Your altitude is at about 1400m there, your car is not going to perform the same as it does at sea level in Auckland or Hamilton or wherever.
“Just stop driving like a wanker, basically.”
Baker, who has served in the fire brigade, said he had seen the fatal results of head-on crashes on mountain roads before and does not want to again.
Police told 1News that dangerous overtaking, as seen in Baker’s video, was a “serious concern”.
“This kind of unsafe driving puts both other motorists and the occupants of the overtaking car themselves at risk of serious injury or worse,” a police spokesperson said.
Drivers needed to ensure it was legal and safe to pass when overtaking, they added.
“Drivers should use passing lanes when they are available or otherwise ensure there is ample clear road head before attempting to overtake.”