Running a stop sign and risking it all: What is going wrong at Canterbury intersections?

Wendy Kennard had to slam on her brakes to avoid a crash at the Weedons Ross Rd/Maddisons Rd intersection. PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN

Wendy Kennard saw her “life flash before her eyes” when a driver ran straight through a stop sign in front of her.

Kennard was travelling from Rolleston to West Melton along Weedons Ross Rd when a car “shot out like a rocket” from Maddisons Rd without stopping.

“I slammed on my brakes and just missed it,” she said.

“It was so fast I didn’t even see the colour of the car.”

The intersection of Tennyson St and State Highway 1, Rolleston, is the site of the most crashes in the district. Photo: Geoff Sloan

Her near miss happened at an intersection with flashing warning lights positioned about 100m before the stop sign.

Kennard said she regularly sees drivers run a stop sign at the intersection.

While she had a lucky escape, 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.

Kennard lives in West Melton and works at the Dandelion and Clover cafe in the township.

The intersection of Shands Rd and Hamptons Rd. Photo: Geoff Sloan

Cafe owner Jenny Swift has had her own near miss at the same intersection while waiting to turn onto Weedons Rd.

Swift believes driver complacency, not the roads themselves, is behind the increase.

“Ask anyone in Selwyn, and they all have similar stories. People are complacent, in a rush to get home, they might think they know the road,” she said.

“I just sat there, braced, put my head back on the headrest, thinking the worst was going to happen,” she said.

“The guy just sailed straight up behind me, around me, and straight over the intersection.”

She said the extra signage meant the stop sign was impossible to miss.

Councillor Denise Carrick, who campaigned before the election on improving intersections, said she was not surprised crash numbers had increased and believed the true figure was likely higher.

“The actual reality is worse than the stats. There will be some that don’t get recorded, and the near misses don’t get recorded,” she said.

Carrick said she does not have a specific plan for upgrades but continues to relay community concerns to council staff.

The council uses software to prioritise intersections and has 24 upgrades planned for 2025/26, ranging from extra signage and road markings to improved lighting and intersection realignment.

Carrick said infrastructure is not keeping pace with population growth was another possible factor.

The Tennyson St/State Highway 1 intersection in Rolleston has recorded 16 crashes in the past five years. Photo: Geoff Sloan

“Many of the roads used to be just rural roads, but now they are main commuter roads.”

She said improving safety at one intersection often highlights problems at another.

While crash numbers have been rising, the number of tickets issued by police at stop signs has been decreasing.

There were 945 tickets issued in 2021, 478 in 2022, 385 in 2023, 514 in 2024, and 417 in 2025.

In response to the statistics, acting Canterbury rural area commander Inspector Paul Reeves said police adjust their deployment to reflect any increases at specific intersections.

“Our message to road users remains simple: Speed limits and road signage are in place for a reason, to ensure the safety of all road users,” he said.

“We continue to make no apology for taking action against drivers who are breaking the law, driving dangerously and putting all road users at risk.”

Automobile Association Canterbury West Coast District Council chair John Skevington said more enforcement is needed but acknowledged police cannot be everywhere.

The Shands, Springston Rolleston and Weedons Rds intersection, with 12 crashes, is set to be replaced with a roundabout in 2027. Photo: Geoff Sloan

He said AA Research Foundation findings from 2024 showed about a third of drivers failed to notice an intersection was ahead.

“A lot of crashes happen at these intersections because many rural roads are high-speed areas with long straight approaches and light traffic. Visibility of upcoming intersections and bisecting roads is often poor, and signage and markings can be minimal,” he said.

The research found simple changes, such as advanced signage and extra road markings, helped drivers spot intersections up to 160m earlier — about six seconds sooner when travelling at 100km/h.

Skevington said even with upgrades on many rural roads, drivers either not paying attention or being too comfortable on their regular route continued to be a major factor in crashes.

Upgrades on the way

All five of the top intersections for crashes in the last five years have either been upgraded or have upgrades scheduled.

The Tennyson St, State Highway 1 intersection, which saw the most crashes in the last five years (16), will be changed to left-turn only as part of stage two of the Rolleston highway upgrades, with construction due to start later this year.
The SH1, Dunns Crossing and Walkers Rds intersection, which saw 15 crashes, is currently being replaced with a roundabout.
The Shands and Hampton Rds intersection which also saw 15 crashes, was replaced with a roundabout last year.
Shands, Springston Rolleston, Weedons Rds intersection, which has seen 12 crashes in the last five years, is due be replaced with a roundabout in 2027. The upgrade was due to be completed by the council this year, but was pushed back because it did not get co-funding from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. The council is now funding the full $1.2m project itself.
The SH1, Burnham and Aylesbury Rds intersection is due to have a roundabout installed following the completion of the Dunns Crossing work.

MORE CRASHES BUT LESS SEVERE

From 2014-2019 there were 478 crashes, about 79.7 a year.
From 2020-2025 there were 516 crashes, about 103.2 a year.
When comparing 2014-2019 to 2020-2025, fatalities fell from 11 to four, serious casualties remained almost the same at 82 to 83, minor injury crashes almost doubled from 108 to 199 and non-injury crashes rose from 300 to 353.

NOT STOPPING

Crashes where failing to stop or give way was a contributing factor: