PHOTO
A Canterbury fire chief believes the number of crashes at the Selwyn district’s intersections will increase.
Three members of the BDI Rugby Club remain in hospital following this month's crash at the intersection of Greendale and Clintons Rds.
BDI coach Steve Devereux said the van was hit by a car that did not give way. Thirteen people were treated at the scene with nine taken to hospital, two in critical condition.
The club yesterday declined to update what condition the trio still in hospital were in.
Saturday’s accident was followed by another two-car crash at the intersection of Boundary and Waterholes Rds between Lincoln and Rolleston on Monday afternoon.
The crash left one person in a serious condition and the other in a moderate condition, with firefighters having to cut the occupants out of the cars.
Both the Greendale and Clintons Rds and Boundary and Waterholes Rds intersections have give-way and stop sign advisory signs 200m ahead of the intersections respectively.
Rolleston Volunteer Fire Brigade fire chief Marty Tier is expecting the situation to get worse as the number of cars on Selwyn roads increases.
“That’s what we get when we have thousands of people moving out here.”
Tier said there has been a lack of planning and investment in the district’s roads, which were once rural and are now urban connectors.
“They knew this day was coming; they knew Rolleston was going to be a satellite city and they’ve done nothing to secure land or think about getting the infrastructure in place.”
Construction of a new roundabout on Selwyn and Springston Rolleston Rds is expected to start in 2027, with land acquisition completed and detailed design is underway.
The council has also budgeted $420,000 for intersection safety upgrades in the Malvern Ward.
BDI has made a decision to pull out of the remainder of the division 2 competition because of the crash. The team was scheduled to start the play-offs at the weekend.
“The players made (the decision) themselves. I put it all in their hands, said Devereux.
Said Devereux of not giving updates on the condition of the players: “I don’t want any extra pressure on them, getting messages from extra people and stuff like that while they’re just still trying to get through it.”
In a statement on Facebook on Sunday, he thanked first responders and the volunteer fire brigades for coming to the aid of players, as well as expressing gratitude for messages of support.
“Rugby is the game we love, but it’s the mateship that truly binds us together. We will regroup, we will heal, and we will come back stronger in 2027,” he said.
The latest crash figures show the problem is growing across the district’s intersections.
Of the 353 crashes in Selwyn registered by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi in 2025, drivers failing to stop or give way contributed to 113 of 353 crashes in 2025. Two were fatal, 13 caused serious injuries, 44 minor injuries, and 54 had no injuries.
The problem has been growing steadily.
In 2021, 66 crashes involved drivers failing to stop or give way. By 2024, that number had risen to 98.
Over the past five years, such failures accounted for roughly 27% of 1621 crashes – making it the leading contributing factor.