‘Speak out’ on bad roads
Crash victims say something needs to be done about Matamata’s dangerous roads.
On October 6 Dave Raupi had to swerve to avoid a tourist driver stopped in the middle of Morrinsville-Walton Rd, near where it intersects with Hutchinson Rd, after he crested the hill. He wrote off his car when he went into the ditch.
Dave suggested widening the road and making a turning bay so drivers can merge safely. He also suggested flattening out the hill or painting yellow broken lines on the side of the road .
He would also like tourists to be tested before they can drive on New Zealand roads.
His friend, Zenith Vincent, crashed his motorbike into the back of a car as the ‘‘old bird driving was stopped in the middle of the road checking her map’’ .
He suffered a partial amputation but after four surgeries he now has a rod in his tibia.
He agreed with Dave that awareness of how dangerous the road was needed to be raised and improvements could be made.
Dave wants other people who have had accidents there to come forward.
‘‘There’s bound to be other people out there who have run-ins there and if they can voice it then something may be done about it. I know I would stand behind it. I could have lost my life, simple as that.’’
A motorcyclist was killed on Morrinsville-Walton Rd last year when they collided with a 10-tonne tractor-trailer unit.
Matamata-Piako District Council’s communications officer, Adele Preston, said the council reviews roads, using police reports, after accidents to identify any road design or maintenance issues that may have contributed to them.
‘‘An independent safety assessment was undertaken at the Morrinsville-Walton Rd and Hutchinson Rd intersection a number of years ago in response to an accident in the vicinity.
‘‘This concluded that the cur- rent layout is within best practice guidelines.’’ The provisional police report from Dave’s accident indicated that Hutchinson Rd was not a factor in the accident.
She said the council encouraged the community to contact them with their safety concerns and to report accidents or near misses by filling out a form at their website at mpdc.nz/contact.