Pleas for safer driving

A road safety adviser is pleading for drivers to make good decisions on the road, while Marlborough motorists call for highway improvements following this week’s fatal crashes.

Seven members of the same family including an infant were killed in a collision with a truck on State Highway 1, just south of Picton, about 7.30am on Sunday.

About 30 hours later, a van collided with a truck on State Highway 6 in Kaituna, about 18 kilometres northwest of Blenheim. A person in the van died at the scene.

Marlborough Road Safety Council member Nigel Perry QSM said on Monday he frequently saw drivers making bad decisions on the highway between Picton to Blenheim, which he drove about twice a week.

Perry said many motorists refused to drive to the conditions on the highway. Fog was a common issue on the highway from Picton to Blenheim, yet people would drive through it at full speed with their headlights off, he said.

Perry had been monitoring the region’s roads and intersections for decades with the road safety council, which collected data for the Marlborough District Council’s road safety team.

The bend on SH1 where the crash happened on Sunday was deceptively sharp, he said.

‘‘That corner is a bit of a trap, especially for young drivers.

‘‘I just about drifted across the centre line on that corner myself a couple years ago, not paying enough attention. It’s actually sharper than it looks and you need both hands on the steering wheel to manage that.’’

Perry said he would like to see the highway widened with more passing lanes or safe stopping areas.

‘‘There’s been nothing done to that road since the Queen visited in 1953 . . . they had the road all done up and sealed. It was a terrible dirt road before they sealed it. It’s never been widened.’’

However, drivers needed to remember that 100kph was a limit, not a target, and they needed to slow down for bends in the road, he said. He normally drove that area at around 85kph, he said.

Marlborough Senior Constable Russ Smith pleaded for careful driving this long Matariki weekend after a terrible couple of days for emergency responders.

‘‘It’s been a heartbreaking couple of days on Marlborough roads.

‘‘The sheer scale of these combined tragedies is hard for most of us to comprehend, but the families of those who lost their lives have had their world turned upside-down and things for them will never be the same again.’’

Marlborough police urged drivers to take a moment and think about the way they drive, Smith said.

‘‘It is a task that demands a driver’s full attention and carries a great deal of responsibility . . . Please don’t be a selfish driver. Respect the role you take on as a driver and respect all other road users’ right to be safe on the road.’’

Picton resident Beverley Kenny said she wanted to see the speed reduced and better lighting on the highway.

She regularly drove the highway at 6am for work, and one day in the near future her teenage daughter would get her licence and no doubt do the same, she said.

‘‘I continually face trucks and cars speeding towards Picton to catch the ferries. The road is very dark, and in winter the conditions are deadly, with ice and water and the visibility is extremely poor,’’ Kenny said.

‘‘We have all witnessed cars and trucks driving too fast to get to the ferries in Picton, or tired drivers leaving the ferries, heading away. The road to Nelson has had its speed limit reduced and has no doubt saved lives for doing so. Let’s protect our young drivers, and ourselves.’’

Koromiko resident Trish Rawlings, who heard the crash outside her gate on