Chilling near-miss near Opua turnoff on Northland road captured on cam

Mike Chubb had only seconds to react to a car hurtling towards him on the wrong side of the road.

The manager of Whangārei Airport was travelling home after finishing some work on an aircraft in Paihia about 10am on Friday when he was faced with the car which had crossed double yellow lines and was coming at him.

The terrifying seconds and near-miss were captured on a dash cam Chubb had been given as a Father's Day present about four years ago.

Chubb had just gone past the Opua turnoff and was heading down a section of straight road when the oncoming car crossed the road.

"The next thing this car is roaring up the road on the wrong side. He showed no sign of slowing down so I hit the brakes ... all of a sudden at the last second he swung across in front of me."

The two cars almost collided but Chubb had slowed down.

Chubb let out a couple of expletives but continued driving, happy to not be a tragic addition to Northland's 2018 road toll which stands at 35.

"It all happened so quickly, it was a matter of seconds."

The chilling footage was downloaded on to his home computer but Chubb said he was unable to make out the car's registration plate number.

He was going to look at some software that would improve the quality and maybe allow him to make the footage clearer.

"It would be good if the police would knock on his door and get an explanation. I don't know what he was doing, whether he was distracted by a phone or radio I don't know."

The near-miss comes as a 34-year-old Onerahi man was left in a critical condition after crashing off a Harley Davidson motorbike on a suburban Whangārei street.

Emergency services received reports of the incident on Hodgson St, Onerahi about 9pm on Sunday.

St John medics carried out CPR on the man as he lay on the street before he was taken by ambulance to Whangārei Hospital and later flown by the Northland Rescue helicopter to Auckland Hospital where he remained in a critical condition.

Out on the region's major highways police were reporting increased traffic flows with too many drivers making impatient passing moves and failing to abide by speed restrictions.

Acting Sergeant Brett Steel, who had been out on the roads patrolling, said far too many drivers were impatient and making dangerous passing manoeuvres as a result.

He said while there was a 4km speed tolerance being enforced too many motorists were not heeding the warning to slow down.

"We are basically still getting the same speeds as normal."

He made a plea for motorists to slow down, and plan their trips better so they allowed themselves half an hour longer for delays and rest stops.

"People are trying to get to their holiday destinations in Northland in one big hit. They are getting tired and making poor decisions."

One example was a driver who was trying to get from Wellington to the Bay of Islands without stopping for a break.

The vehicle came to the attention of Steel, who was patrolling just south of Whangārei, when he noticed it swerving over the road. He stopped it and made the driver rest for half an hour.