Increase in crashes on gorge road alternatives

There has been a 230 per cent increase in crashes on the two alternative routes to the Manawatu¯ Gorge since the highway closed.

State Highway 3 through the Manawatu¯ Gorge was closed to traffic in April after several slips and unstable material rendered it too dangerous to use.

Since then, the Saddle Rd and the Pahiatua Track have picked up the extra traffic, and a rise in the number of crashes followed.

From April 24 to mid-november there has been 15 recorded crashes on the Saddle Rd. In the same period in 2016, there was one.

The information from the NZ Transport Agency also shows a slight increase of crashes on the Pahiatua Track, from six between April and mid-november 2016, to eight during the same period in 2017.

Of the 15 crashes on the Saddle Rd, 12 happened on a bend and included either losing control of a vehicle or crashing head-on.

Two crashes happened during overtaking, and two involved rearending another vehicle. None of the crashes was fatal and in some cases there was more than one contributing factor.

Eight crashes on the Saddle Rd involved cars going too fast and nine were due to poor handling.

Poor handling was also a factor in five crashes on the Pahiatua Track and excessive speed was a factor in four.

Speeding and loss of control come as no surprise to Pahiatua residents who say drivers become impatient with slow traffic.

Colleen Cotter said she was stuck behind trucks the whole way over the track on a trip to Palmerston North Hospital.

‘‘We were a little bit annoyed,’’ she said.

‘‘You can’t pass.

‘‘They grind up the hill and we’ve got an appointment to get to the hospital.’’

Although it was frustrating, Cotter said she preferred to pull over and let others pass as she noticed tailgaters close by.

‘‘There’s always impatient drivers.

‘‘I don’t mind the increase of traffic as long as we don’t have any increase of trucks. It’s not really built for trucks.’’

Pahiatua resident Rhys Punler said slow drivers and truck drivers needed to let others pass.

‘‘If you want to go along at holiday speeds, then consider other people.’’

‘‘Twenty-five minutes now takes 40.’’

There weren’t many places to pass, but when an opportunity to pull over arose drivers should pull over, Punler said.

Road Transport Forum NZ chief executive Ken Shirley said trucks often pulled over on those roads but it was still unsafe for vehicles to pass because there were so many bends.

The Saddle Rd is undergoing an $8.5 million upgrade, which includes adding passing lanes. This is expected to be finished by the end of summer 2018.

Transport agency regional transport systems manager Ross I’anson said it was concentrating on the Saddle Rd upgrade, but it would look at possible upgrades to the Pahiatua Track afterwards.

The Saddle Rd took 75 to 80 per cent of the former Manawatu¯ Gorge traffic, so it took precedence, I’anson said.