Close call for Rimutaka hill drivers
‘‘I've seen a bit of bad driving on the road here regularly, so it gets you worried.’’
A man has shared dashcam footage of a close call that left him stirred up for hours.
The footage shows a blue Honda Accord overtaking Upper Hutt resident Tim Wright as he was driving up the winding roads of Rimutaka Hill.
The Honda overtakes him and then gets back in to the right lane, just metres before an oncoming car comes around a corner.
In the ten minutes before the Honda driver overtook him, Wright claims the blue car’s driver was talking on the phone.
‘‘I was worried about him,’’ Wright said.
The driver of the Honda then began to tailgate him, and was driving so close to him that he could not see the car’s license plate in his own mirror, he said.
Wright had his dashcam on all the time, but believed this was the worst case of driving he had seen.
‘‘I’ve seen a bit of bad driving on the road here regularly, so it gets you worried.’’
The beeping in the video was himself, he said.
The footage allowed him to capture the car’s licence plate and he had made a police report of the incident.
A Police spokeswoman said they were aware of the footage and inquiries were ongoing in regard to the complaint.
The Police were finding increasing numbers of drivers used their own devices to record and publish footage of other drivers’ behaviour.
Driver footage was increasingly available to assist Police in their investigations, she said.
‘‘In terms of using recording devices on and around the roads, the main message is that these need to be used in a manner that does not generate unintended risks.
‘‘For example, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians need to pay full attention to the road environment and not be distracted by what is being recorded on their camera.’’
Recording devices needed to be fitted in a manner which meant they wouldn’t cause injury in the event of a crash, she said.
There were no special requirements in how the footage was recorded for it to be used as Police evidence.
‘‘Police may investigate offences relating to footage posted on social media, depending on the circumstances of the incident.’’
Anyone who noticed dangerous driving behaviour was urged to call *555 and report it to Police.
‘‘Motorists who use *555 regularly help Police to make successful interventions which potentially prevent tragic incidents involving death and serious injuries on our roads.
‘‘The *555 line is intended to report road incidents such as noninjury crashes, erratic driving, traffic congestion, breakdowns and obstructions on the highway.
‘‘If you come across a genuine emergency where there is real risk to someone’s life then we would always urge that you contact Police on 111.’’