Macandrew Bay crashes put down to driver behaviour

Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and ambulance officers attended a single-vehicle crash where the car was almost totally submerged in Otago Harbour near the brown boat shed at Macandrew Bay on December 5 this year. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON

A string of crashes resulting in cars ending up in Otago Harbour at Macandrew Bay is believed to be the result of driver distraction and speed, rather than issues with the road after it was widened over the past 18 months.

The latest crash was on Wednesday night.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said a car drove off Portobello Rd and was left "dangling slightly over the edge".

Emergency services attend a crash in which a car went into Otago Harbour off Portobello Rd, near Rosehill Rd, on February 20, 2016. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON

It was the second crash in that location this month.

"It happened as the driver was driving too fast for the wet weather conditions at the time," he said.

Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope said he did not believe the incidents during the past two years had been related to the design of the road, other than it remained a tight corner.

"We’re fortunate there hasn’t been serious injury or death to date.

"This is a corner that is reasonably tight, and people can pay the price of inattention.

Emergency services attend to a vehicle in the harbour near Rosehill Rd and Macandrew Bay on December 8 last year. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH

"Drivers do really have to remember to keep their foot off the gas, stay off the cellphone, don’t fight with the kids if they’re bickering in the back seat — pay attention."

The section of road in question had been widened in a project that was completed within the past 18 months, between Macandrew Bay and Vauxhall, Mr Pope said.

Most of the road was bound by the harbour and seawall on one side, and land on the other.

Firefighters contain leaking fluids from a car that rolled in Portobello Rd on November 27, 2015. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN

The Peninsula Connection road safety project added two additional shoulder lanes to the road in order to make the stretch safer.

The widening had been undertaken following a safety audit, which sought to benefit all three types of road user, vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, Mr Pope said.

courtney.white@odt.co.nz

3 Comments

Comments

Mu78 Fri, 17/12/2021 - 2:37pm #

It's only a matter of time before someone drowns there - time for a barrier between the road and footpath.

David Fri, 17/12/2021 - 8:49pm #

It's not really a bad corner and it is well within the 50km/h limit so no excuses for going for a dip really. A barrier would be a good idea though. The danger isn't so much for the drivers, more for anyone walking on the footpath at the time.

Mu78 Fri, 17/12/2021 - 11:23pm #

There maybe an issues in the wet, even at 40-50kph an aquaplaning vehicle takes a fair distance to stop.