Saddle Road 'shocking'
VICKI WATERHOUSE
HEAD-ON: The teenage occupants of a Subaru Legacy were taken to hospital after the car and a Mazda Familia collided on Saddle Rd yesterday. Photo: MURRAY WILSON/FAIRFAX NZ
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Manawatu residents are questioning the safety of the Saddle Rd after a serious head-on crash that left a man fighting for his life.
The 28-year-old man was badly injured when his Mazda Familia and a Subaru Legacy collided about 2 kilometres from the Woodville end of the road about 8.10am yesterday.
The four teenagers in the other car suffered minor injuries. All were taken to Palmerston North Hospital.
The 28-year-old was in critical condition and was later taken to Wellington Hospital, while the teenagers were discharged.
The police serious crash unit was investigating the crash.
The crash was one of at least 20 on the stretch of road since State Highway 3 through the Manawatu Gorge was closed in August by a major slip.
Saddle Rd is one of two alternative routes linking Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa with Manawatu.
Angela Green, whose son Michael Stern, 18, was driving the Subaru, said the road was in a shocking state and needed to be sorted out before someone was killed.
"It's not designed for that amount of traffic, it's just ridiculous," she said.
She said the road was not properly signposted and the 70kmh speed limit needed to be policed so people got the message.
"It's just not a nice road to drive. I went down to the scene and it was horrible getting there," Ms Green said.
Mr Stern suffered minor injuries in the crash after his head hit the windscreen. He was left with cuts on his face and knees and a swollen and bleeding eye.
The teenagers were on their way to Splash Planet in Hawke's Bay when the crash happened.
"They'd planned it well and they'd been talking about it for a couple of weeks. They've just had their school holidays totally screwed," Ms Green said.
The three other passengers, aged 14, 16 and 17, suffered cuts, dislocations and broken bones in the crash.
Neighbouring farmer Brad Gordon said the edges of the road were so damaged that motorists were avoiding the holes by coming closer to the centre.
"They're pushing themselves into the traffic," he said. "It just makes you sick, actually. How many accidents do you have to have before they do something about it?"
Senior Sergeant Nick Dobson said although the cause of the crash was yet to be established, the state of the road meant caution needed to be taken. "The road surface is in urgent need of attention and we need people to be aware of the large volumes of traffic that are going through here," he said. Police would be in touch with all parties involved in the road maintenance to see if work could be sped up, he said. "I can't emphasise enough how much people using this road need to be careful."
New Zealand Transport Agency central region state highways manager Rod James said the Saddle Rd was designed for much less traffic than it had to cope with right now.
Ideally, the road would be closed so it could be fully upgraded, Mr James said, but that was not possible because of the high volume of traffic that needed the route while the gorge road was shut.
"We're making the best of what we can," he said.
Mr James said the agency would investigate the stretch of road where yesterday's crash happened.
"I'll certainly be getting somebody out there to review it and to see ... if there's something we can do quickly."
- © Fairfax NZ News
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you know what i am soo sick of all you people judging, but hey all teenagers are immature and reckless drivers arnt they , wrong !! I was in the drivers passanger steat in the back of the subaru and you have absoulutley no idea how we are feeling about whats happend it hurts so bad and to have most people saying we were reckless drivers and we caused the accident is just plain wrong you guys wernt there were you? so i think you all need to wait to see what the final report is after the SCU have finished and i cannot wait to prove ALL you judgemental people wrong !!!
I read these "Stuff" comments, and I shakes me head. Blaming the road conditions is like blaming the rifle ...neither of which are THE CAUSE of aggrievement or bereavement. You gotta' make conscious adjustments with respect of: Reviewed ETA's, road condition, increased traffic, weather & likely 'peak'movement periods.
Due consideration for the above is being "responsive" and it's an Attitude, mostly unrecognised in this todays world of ... nil resposibility acceptance and is continually reinforced by equally lacking role modelling .. which is exampled in comments this page..
Defence of their skills inadequacy ..is to find fault with the "condition" tho' allways after the fact or incident ... The condition needs recognition before inserting the key.
There's the saying 'it's all a learning curve"..one hopes therefore that there maybe some change in Attitude, call it shouldering a share of driver responsibility, by those affected by these type incident,. and the publicity it provokes.
Better to make reappraisal of technique in the present .. rather than ponder the shoulda' coulda' whilst on rehabilitation or worse.
I agree this road is in a bad way and all drivers need to drive to the conditions. Those driving too fast for the road and their ability need to slow down. Those doing 20km an hour need to let others past - there are a few places this is possible. Yes we all should be more patient, but 20km/hr?? I do notice that those of us used to narrow winding roads cope far better than those used to highways, and really slow drivers cause some silly passing. That is a fact on all NZ roads!
No matter how bad the road is, if everyone were to drive to the conditions, and stay in their lane, then there would be no head-on collisions. Its fairly clear one of those vehicles strayed out of their lane. Its a back-road being used as a highway, its not ideal, but is all we have for now and we'll just have to make do. The road is not unsafe, its people that are unsafe.
Mark #27
Sorry mate but if you're driving a road and there is even a chance that you are going to slide then you are GOING TOO FAST! The object is not to go as fast as you possibly can so that if a corner is slightly tighter than you expect then you might just slide into the path of oncoming traffic(especially when you've driven that road before).
If you want to drive like that go to a track day and don't gamble with other peoples lives!
If this doesn't describe you then I appologise but talking about easily sliding makes it sound like you drive too fast, I know that far too many Kiwi's do and seem to have no conception of the consequences when they lose it.
Come on people!
That piece of road at the best of times is Lethal.
I consider myself a pretty good driver, and even then, a few times that road has caught me out on just how Tight some of those corners are.
Especially that one heading north that you come to just as you hit the pine trees - Super sharp, super slow corner, that if your not paying full attention on could Easily end up sliding out of lane into on-coming traffic.
Then there is the Fog/clouds, and the fact that trucks Refuse to use the slow traffic bays.
@ L #16
was your friend forced to be a passenger on the road against their will or did he CHOOSE to travel on it?
he didn't have it.
Michael Stern how were you driving prior to this crash? Were you safe with your passengers? Did you obey the speed limit, pass safely? Be honest here dude.
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DH #30 If 20km/hour is the SAFE speed, then yes, 20km/hour. Also, on steep hills, some vehicles are not as powerful as others. But I will point out that I have never seen anyone do 20km/hour, unless towing a large trailer. So I don't really entirely buy your comment. :)