Danger on Rimutaka Rd

The Rimutaka Hill Rd is the seventh riskiest road for drivers in New Zealand, according to new national ranking statistics.

NZ Transport Agency figures show SH2 from Featherston to Upper Hutt is seventh worst for personal risk in the study, which measures danger based on information such as fatal crashes, serious injury incidents and traffic volumes.

Personal risk is the likelihood of a driver or rider being involved in a fatal or serious road crash on a particular stretch of road.

Most dangerous was SH31 in Waikato at Kawhia, followed by SH43 from Stratford to Taumarunui, while SH37 in Waikato was listed as third most dangerous.

The number of fatal and serious injury crashes on the Rimutaka Hill Rd had increased from 20 during the 2002-2006 period up to 34 for the five years to 2011.

The rise was largely due to fatal and serious injury motorcycle crashes, which rose from eight between 2002 and 2006 up to 18 in the following five years.

NZTA figures showed between 2007 and 2011 there were 282 crashes on the Rimutaka Hill Road, of which two were fatal, 30 were serious, 76 were minor and 174 were non-injury crashes.

Nine per cent happened as a result of overtaking, and 8 per cent were rear end/obstruction collisions.

Crash factors showed that road issues were a contributing factor in 38 per cent of crashes on the road, while speed and poor handling were factors in 34 per cent of crashes.

Poor observation and poor judgment were contributing factors in 14 and 13 per cent respectively. Factors which hampered driving such as fatigue and alcohol were directly associated to 5 per cent of crashes.

NZTA said between 2009 and 2011 $16 million was spent smoothing out Muldoon's Corner, the sharpest and tightest corner on the road. Other corners were also eased or straightened.

A new guard rail was added and resurfacing completed on a one kilometre section of road.

Last Saturday, a woman motorcyclist suffered fractures to her lower and upper body after she collided with an oncoming vehicle near Featherston.