A series of five deaths over the past 12 months on 26km of State Highway 1 between Maheno and Moeraki, in North Otago, has sparked concerns the stretch of road is dangerous.
An ongoing study by the New Zealand Transport Agency could result in improvements to the road, and police have increased patrols in the area. However, when contacted by the Otago Daily Times this week, both the transport agency and police said driver mistakes were contributing factors to the crashes.
On February 25, John Alexander Horn, of Invercargill, died when he lost control of his motorcycle in the rain, crossed the centre line and hit an oncoming southbound car about 2km north of Hampden.
Information the transport agency provided to the Otago Daily Times showed eight deaths had occurred between Maheno and Moeraki since 2011.
Information provided by the transport agency identified 10 serious crashes in the area from 2011 to 2015.
Of these, six crashes resulted in seven deaths, and four resulted in serious injuries.
The transport agency's Southern business unit manager Ian Duncan said ‘‘given the four fatalities in 2015, the transport agency ... was actively monitoring the highway for changes or contributing factors for each of those fatality and serious-injury crashes''.
The ‘‘strategic study'' of State Highway 1 included the section from Oamaru to Dunedin, Mr Duncan said.
‘‘One of the key problems identified for further investigation is that State Highway 1 has a diverse terrain and some unforgiving sections which, combined with driver mistakes, can result in fatal and serious crashes. The next stage of this work will look at options for potential improvements at priority locations.''
Sections deemed to be priority locations had yet to be determined, he said. However, some work had taken place in the area in recent years.
The transport agency had painted ‘‘keep left'' arrows as reminders for foreign drivers in parts; no-passing lines were added; and the Kakaho Creek Bridge near Hampden was widened to improve safety last year.
Southern district road policing manager Inspector Tania Baron said police focused on stretches where there was a ‘‘trend'' of serious crashes.
‘‘We must urge that this is not a problem police can fix on its own. Rather, we need the support of our partners, communities and all road users to address these issues and ensure road users are driving responsibly,'' she said.
The transport agency data shows four of the crashes were head-on collisions, in four cases vehicles left the road, one occurred at an intersection and one involved a pedestrian on the highway.
While many crashes had multiple causes, three crashes were caused by driver fatigue, three were due to ‘‘poor handling'' of the vehicle, three were due to vehicles having crossed the centre line or been in the incorrect lane, two were caused by drivers failing to keep left, two were caused by drugs or alcohol, two were due to poor judgement, and one was the result of overtaking on double yellow lines, Mr Duncan said.
New Zealand drivers were at fault or part-fault in eight of the 10 crashes. Foreign drivers were at fault or part-fault in two.
From 2011 to 2015, across Otago, there were 72 fatal crashes and 674 serious-injury crashes.
There were 1459 road deaths nationally from 2011 to 2015, including 320 road deaths in 292 fatal crashes last year, Ministry of Transport figures show.
There have been 67 deaths on New Zealand roads so far this year, 11 more than at this time last year.
