Boat driver impaired
Alcohol a factor in jet boat accident that killed farmer
Speed and alcohol as well as fading daylight led to a fatal accident on a remote river in Fiordland, according to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC).
Prominent Southland farmer Shane Gibbons, 50, died and two others were seriously injured in the crash on the Hollyford River in Fiordland National Park on March 18 last year.
TAIC chief investigator of accidents Aaron Holman said the boat driver’s blood alcohol concentration was found to be about three times the legal limit for driving a car.
The boat with four people on board was travelling at a speed of 35kmh to 50kmh in fading evening light, between 7.30pm and 8.30pm, when it hit a rock in a shallow channel.
The driver lost control and the boat skidded along gravel and came to rest on a gravel bar in the middle of the river.
Holman said the crash was made more likely by a combination of insufficient planning, insufficient daylight and too much speed and alcohol.
‘‘The commission’s longstanding advice is that people in safety-critical roles should not be impaired by alcohol or drugs; it’s a TAIC Watchlist item and the subject of numerous previous recommendations,’’ Holman said.
‘‘The driver’s blood alcohol concentration was about three times New Zealand’s legal limit for driving a car.
‘‘The commission found it was virtually certain that the accident happened because alcohol consumption impaired the driver’s ability to make good decisions and to operate the jet boat safely.
‘‘The jet boat’s speed meant the driver had less time to make good driving decisions, and in the flat lighting conditions, rocks and other risk features were hard to see, further affecting the driver’s ability to set a safe course.’’
TAIC is calling for Maritime New Zealand to improve its fatal accident database about accidents and incidents involving alcohol impairment.
It is also renewing its call for laws to prohibit people in safety-critical roles being impaired by alcohol or drugs.
TAIC senior communications adviser Simon Pleasants said the organisation could not lay criminal charges in relation to the incident, as they needed to be laid by the New Zealand Police.
However, he said recreational jet boat drivers could not be charged in incidents where drivers were impaired by drugs or alcohol. This was why TAIC was calling for the change in legislation.
Commercial operators could be charged, he said.
Gibbons’ partner, Bridget Speight, said she had received and read the crash report yesterday and felt TAIC had done a thorough investigation.
‘‘I feel comfortable with the report . . . The facts can speak for themselves.’’
Gibbons and Speight won the supreme award at the Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards in 2016.
They also picked up the Farm Stewardship, Environment Southland Water Quality and Biodiversity, and WaterForce Integrated Management awards.
Gibbons farmed sheep, beef and dairy support on the 1880-hectare property called Whare Creek at the southern end of the Te Anau Basin.