Dashcam footage has captured a van "driving erratically" on the rural, windy road from Piha Beach, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision. Video / Supplied
Shocking dashcam footage shows a rental van “driving erratically” on a rural Auckland road, narrowly avoiding a head-on accident.
The van can be seen swerving across the road as it slowed up and sped down.
The driver who captured the footage said police intervention prevented a near-certain road toll statistic.
Shocking dashcam footage has captured the five-minute journey of a rental van driving erratically on a rural Auckland road, crossing the centre line and narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic.
The driver of the vehicle that captured the footage – who wished to remain anonymous – told the Herald they were leaving Piha Beach with some friends on Monday about 5.30pm and were stunned when the van began swerving across the winding rural West Auckland road.
They said the van and its driver almost became a near-certain road toll statistic.
“They were driving pretty erratically all the way, going slow, speeding up, not sticking to their lanes. We tried to honk [at] them a few times and flash our lights at them, but nothing seemed to work.”
The witness said they decided to call police after the van “had a near miss” with oncoming traffic.
The van narrowly avoided a head-on collision with oncoming traffic after swerving onto the wrong side of the road.
“Police were great, they immediately asked for our location, said a unit was on its way, and asked us to stay on the line and keep telling them our location. We got cut off a few times due to the reception out west, but they kept calling us back.”
They said shortly after running a stop sign, the van turned into Forest Hill Rd, where a police unit was waiting on a side road.
“It followed [the van] for a bit. The van did the same thing right in front of them, [so it] lit them up and stopped them.
“The police officer came up to us and said they had everything they needed already as they were driving bad right in front of them, and would call us if they needed anything more, so we left at that point.”
The witness assumed those inside the van were tourists as they were driving a rental van and it “definitely” looked like they were on holiday.
“I have never seen anyone local drive like that.”
The dashcam footage also shows a green vehicle attempting to overtake the van forced to pull back in as the van starts driving in the middle of the road as oncoming traffic comes around a sharp corner.
The dashcam footage also shows a green vehicle attempting to overtake the van driving in the middle of the road.
A police spokesperson confirmed they received a call reporting a vehicle “swerving across the centre line” and “driving erratically” from the direction of Piha towards Auckland City from about 5.45pm on Monday.
“A police unit saw the vehicle on Forest Hill Rd just before 6pm, stopped it and spoke with the driver,” police said.
Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.
