Calls for blackspot solution

"It was very, very scary."

Sarah Whitehead

A two-car crash at one of Taranaki’s notorious intersections has prompted renewed calls to improve safety, including suggestions to install a roundabout at the site.

Support for such a measure has been voiced by mother-of-two Sarah Whitehead, who bore the brunt of the impact during the Sunday morning crash at the Princess St and State Highway 3 intersection, near Waitara.

The stretch of State Highway 3 between Bell Block and Waitara is already on New Zealand Transport Agency’s (NZTA) radar, after it hosted two public meetings in Taranaki this year to canvas ideas about safety improvements along the route. Last year this section of State Highway 3 was also included in a $26 million government plan to improve the safety of 10 of the North Island’s worst carriageways.

While uninjured in Sunday’s crash, Whitehead said it had been a ‘‘very frightening’’ experience.

About 9.30am she was heading north on State Highway 3 towards Uruti as she drove past the intersection, which is governed by compulsory stop signs.

‘‘I just looked to my right and there was blue coming at me,’’ she recalled.

‘‘I don’t know how he didn’t see me,’’ she said of the other motorist.

At the time, her nine-month-old baby Ella was in the car with her. After the impact, she managed to steer the car to the side of the road.

‘‘It was very, very scary,’’ she said.

Social media reaction to Sunday’s crash was swift, with some pundits voicing concerns about the ongoing safety of the intersection. There was also a steady stream of suggestions for a roundabout to be installed at the site.

However, others suggested drivers sticking to the speed limit and observing other road rules was the the most effective way to reduce the crash risk.

In the past, the Princess St and State Highway 3 intersection has been the site of fatal accidents along with other serious crashes which sometimes result in the road being closed to traffic.

Whitehead believed a roundabout was a good idea at the intersection as it would force people to slow down.

‘‘I definitely think a roundabout would suit there. Then you have to slow down and you have to look,’’ she said.

Whatever happened regarding any future safety improvements, Whitehead also urged drivers to take more care on the roads as well.

‘‘It’s not hard to stop and look,’’ she said.

In March this year, two public meetings were hosted by NZTA in north Taranaki to canvas community opinion about the section of highway between Bell Block and Waitara and what ideas people had to improve safety. The discussion also took into account the projected residential and commercial growth expected in the area in coming years.

Last year, a permanent speed limit of 80km/h was also fixed for the stretch of highway.

Waitara community board chairman Andrew Larsen described the Princess St and State Highway 3 as one of the highway’s ’’problematic’’ intersections.

‘‘There are regular accidents there. I know there have been people killed there in the past,’’ Larsen said.

He said the crash blackspot, among others, was discussed during the consultation meeting with NZTA and the agency was due to report back to the community board on the topic at its November 24 meeting.