Foreign drivers involved in two serious crashes over Waitangi weekend
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Foreign nationals have been involved in two serious crashes over the Waitangi weekend, with one crash claiming the life of a motorcyclist.
The male motorcyclist was killed trying to overtake a car at about 10am on Sunday, on State Highway 5, just north of Napier.
He was travelling with several motorcycle companions, with the group believed to be returning home following a gathering of bike enthusiasts in Havelock North on Saturday night.
Police are yet to determine the cause of the crash, but say both the motorcycle and the car, driven by a Chinese national, were heading north at the time.
READ MORE: Four dead on New Zealand roads in less than 24 hours
The Chinese woman, who was travelling with another Chinese national, was in New Zealand on a 12-month working visa.
It follows a crash on Friday morning when a German tourist crossed the centre line while driving a rental van on the South Island's West Coast.
The van collided with a car on State Highway 6 in the Buller Gorge about 11am on Friday, leaving both drivers in a serious condition
Senior Constable Cory Ubels of the Serious Crash Unit said it appeared neither speed nor alcohol had played a part in Sunday's Hawke's Bay crash.
The fatal crash, which closed SH5 for more than four hours, was the fifth death of the Waitangi long weekend.
Eskdale Orchard worker Grace Dransfield said she heard the impact of the bike hitting the ground.
'Customers came running in telling us to call 111. I ran out and saw the motorbike on the fence and a guy lying there.'
Dransfield said there were 'quite a few' crashes that happened along that road.
Cazz Taylor of Hawke's Bay Harley Motorcycle Club said he understood the dead rider had been at the Bay MC One Night Stand – a motorcycle event the previous night.
'People were heading back [home] this morning. Riders come from up past Auckland for it.
'It's upsetting hearing about it.'
A farmer who lives near the crash site said this was the fourth fatal crash in 16 years within about a kilometre of his property.
'It's an extremely dangerous bit of road and people make mistakes,' said the man, who asked not to be named.
He said the section was the first flat after a long stretch of hilly terrain.
'There's a slight kink in the road and they preempt it and pull out to pass. I'm not at all saying that's what's happened here though.'
National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally said Kiwis were quick to point the finger at foreign drivers, while in reality they accounted for just six per cent of fatal road accidents.
'The rules are the same for everybody. It's got nothing to do with where someone comes from.
'It comes down to attitude and ability.'
He said it was too early to speculate on the cause of Sunday's crash, but extended his sympathy to the victim's family.
On Friday two men were killed after their cars collided at Te Kowhai, just outside Hamilton, about 10pm.
An hour earlier a 51-year-old man died in Taranaki after he lost control of his motorbike.
In the early hours of Saturday morning a 23-year-old man was also killed in a Manawatu crash.
Police said the man lost control of his vehicle while rounding a bend near Ohakea, was flung from the car and died at the scene
Greally said the toll was 'extremely frustrating' for police.
'The messages we are presenting are very, very easy solutions.
'Most people would say they make sense, but when some people get into their car they forget it.
'Then we get people overtaking in dangerous situations and not really understanding the risk, or understanding the risk and deciding to proceed anyway – so they don't care.
'It only takes one person not listening to ruin people's lives.'