EDITORIAL: Bad roads - or is it the driver?

Statistics reveal that some roads are bad roads.

Or are they?

There are stretches of highway and otherwise relatively remote rural roads throughout this land which have a higher than average number of crashes upon them.

I accept that some roads are narrower than others. Some have cambers slightly offset by age and some have ditches along their sides, and no room for run-off, let alone error.

In the wake of a crash on a "notorious" stretch of open road in the Waikato six or seven years ago, we were diverted to a back road which added about 10 minutes to the journey home.

Before being directed on our way by a local member of the fire police who was doing traffic control while emergency services tended to the critically injured, I mentioned I'd seen a couple of roadside crosses on the stretch, before arriving at the crash site.

I'd also seen a lot of double yellow lines and some looked freshly applied - clearly misjudged overtaking had been an issue there.

"Lot of crashes here," I said.

"For some reason or another," he replied.

Yes, for some reason or another.

Crashes are not accidents. They are anything but accidental.

There is a cause, and apart from the small number involving a medical condition or where a mechanical part of the vehicle may fail, that cause is human.

We have a share of "bad roads" in Hawke's Bay ... You see the crosses and flowers and you read the crash reports.

Farndon Rd has had more than its share, and I was interested to scroll through the texts received about why this should be.

The human factor rose to the top.

Errors in driving "for some reason or another".

I have made errors in driving and three of them resulted in visiting hospitals, because motorcycles are rather unforgiving when you edge over the mark and part company with the things ... although I still love them!

Except that these days my throttle hand is way more constrained.

There was nothing wrong with the roads I chose to err upon. There is nothing wrong with any road.

It may be a cliche, but the standard line issued from police is as good as it gets ... Drive to the conditions.

At pace, on an open road, any slight diverting of the eyes or attention can hurt ... I can assure you of that.

Roads are fine. Narrow ones, winding ones, uneven ones and badly lit ones.

It is quite simply how the driver of the vehicle upon that road chooses to traverse it.

Despite the repeated publicity, sadly (but realistically) I would not place a bet on Farndon Rd, or any other "bad road", dragging another vehicle from the safety of the tarseal and into the scrap-metal yard in the near future.