More road seal, lower limit sought
The section of road where a girl died on Friday night is notorious for crashes and residents want it fixed.
Upper Waingawa Rd, west of Masterton, is a popular route for people heading to a favourite swimming hole at the road end.
Resident Peter Davison said that unfortunately, some drivers unfamiliar with the road too often came to grief. He wanted to see lower speed limits and more seal.
Davison, who lives 200 metres from the site of Friday’s fatality, said there were frequently crashes along that stretch.
‘‘They’ve got to come up with some solutions to make them [people] drive to the conditions.’’
Three others were injured in the single-vehicle crash that happened at 6.30pm where the car ended up on its roof in the middle of the road.
His family helped look after other children who were in the vehicle.
Davison was aware of a debate about whether the road should be sealed but he believed that was only part of the problem.
There needed to be slower speed restrictions and the camber of the road in places meant that vehicles were often sliding off.
‘‘There’s design fault and the road falls off towards the river. If they get a bit of speed along there, they get into trouble and they overcorrect.’’
He estimated there were about 10 crashes on the bend outside their driveway every year. His wife, Rose Davison, had twice had to run to avoid being hit by cars careening off the gravel road.
Masterton District Council chief executive Kath Ross said its road maintenance work included sealing programmes.
‘‘Addressing safety concerns is also a key priority for us; we work with the police to prioritise roads that have a crash history.
‘‘This particular road does not have a history of accidents reported to either council or police.
‘‘We will be working with the police to understand the circumstances surrounding this accident and whether resealing or speed restrictions should be considered.’’