KEY POINTS:
A Wellington coroner is calling for Transit to fast-track safety improvements on a section of State Highway 2 due to the severity of crashes occurring there.
Coroner Garry Evans cited two recent fatal crashes on River Rd (SH2), used by commuters travelling between the Hutt Valley and Wellington, and recommended upgrades to reduce the chance of them recurring.
Krystal Bennett, 18, and Khan Edwards, 12, were killed in September 2005 when a car driven by Leah Peneha, in which Khan was a passenger, crossed the centre line and collided with Ms Bennett's vehicle.
Peneha, who was high on meth-amphetamine, was jailed for six years and six months on two charges of manslaughter and two charges of dangerous driving causing death.
Mr Evans' inquest report, released today, called for investigation into extending the median barrier further north along the highway to catch cars before they could cross into the path of oncoming traffic.
Transit regional manager Graham Taylor said the option would be considered but internationally there had a been a move away from barriers on high-traffic roads. He did not rule it out, though, saying the recently installed barrier on State Highway 1 through Paekakariki had so far proven very successful.
After the deaths of Lynne Pain, 40, and her mother, Delores Pain, 76, in August 2006 at the Moonshine Road and SH2 intersection, police noted it was difficult to see traffic travelling from the south. The driver of the truck which collided with the pair said Lynne Pain was looking the other way as she pulled out.
Police said Land Transport NZ statistics showed there had been 30 crashes at the intersection over the previous five years.
Transit said it was aware of the issues and plans to improve it were already under way.
"The coroner's report is just reinforcing our knowledge," said Transit regional manager Graham Taylor.
He said a high number of crashes at intersections involved impacts on the driver's door as they checked traffic in the opposite lane.
Transit had tendered contracts to improve the intersections between the highway and Moonshine Hill Rd as well as Whakatiki St and Moonshine Rd
Traffic islands on median lanes will be installed, allowing cars to pull across one lane of the high-way and take shelter before merging.
If all goes to plan, they will be finished halfway through 2008.
He expected further plans to improve more of the SH2 stretch between Wellington and Upper Hutt would be ready early next year.
The area between Western Hutt Rd and Moonshine Hill Rd saw 57 crashes from 2002 to 2006, which put the accident rate at 3.4 crashes per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled - lower than the national average of 3.7.
The troubling statistic was that 45 per cent of the injury crashes resulted in serious injuries or fatalities compared with 29 per cent for the rest of the state highway network.
Mr Taylor said: "There is so much traffic there, if you make a mistake the risk of collision with another vehicle is high."
- NZPA
