Girl who went through near miss pleads for more responsible driving on Northland roads

Lorna May Keen, right, with mum Hannah showing the drawing she made of the erratic driver and the car that nearly collided with their vehicle. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A 7-year-old Northland girl terrified after a car nearly wiped her and her mum out on the drive home has a message to idiot drivers — do not overtake on yellow lines and on bridges because you may cause a crash.

Lorna May Keen of Hikurangi penned a letter with help from her grandmother, describing a near head-on collision on State Highway 1 at Hukerenui, and drew a picture of what the offending car and driver looked like, and emailed them to the Northern Advocate.

"I hope someone can tell the man how to drive safely and maybe give him some training," the Hukerenui School student said.

"Don't overtake on yellow lines and on bridges. You may cause a crash or an injury."

Lorna was returning home to Hikurangi from the school pool about 6.10pm on Monday when mum Hannah spotted a yellow car pull out about 200m away and overtook a line of northbound traffic on yellow lines.

It happened near a bridge and railway lines by Waiotu Block Rd, Hukerenui.

Lorna May was sitting in the back seat, behind the front passenger's seat.

"I said 'Oh my gosh, I better pull over' but there was nowhere to stop so we slowed right down to maybe 10km and he was a few car lengths (away) when he pulled back in," Hannah Keen said.

"If I hadn't slowed down, there would have been a head-on collision. I burst into tears and cried all the way on my way back home. The only thing I was thinking was we'll lose our lives and that will be it. I honked my car horn and rang *555 when I got back home," she said.

Lorna May said there were passing lanes up and down SH1 but impatient drivers were reluctant to utilise them.

"Be considerate. You are not the only one using the road. Road rules are there for a reason. Obviously the yellow lines were there because there was no room to overtake."

Seven-year-old Lorna May Keen's drawing after a near-miss on state highway 1 at Hukerenui. Photo / Supplied

Hannah Keen said she had seen erratic drivers in the past but none as idiotic as the one on Monday.

Lorna May hoped her drawing might help catch the "naughty man" who scared them.

"His car was dark yellow like the certificates we get at school for third place. The car was more like a rectangle than a curved car. There was black trim around the doors," she wrote in her letter.

"He had brown hair and a greenish t-shirt. I drew him with jeans and brown shoes because even though I couldn't see them, perhaps that would match his top."

Lorna May didn't see much of the near-miss or fully realise what had happened until she reached home and grandmother Davina encouraged her to draw a picture.

"She could see it as a video re-playing which I found interesting because some people just black out and can't remember anything later on. It took her well over an hour to draw the picture," Davina Keen said.

Senior Sergeant Ian Row said since traffic volume has increased compared with previous years, the consequences of bad driver behaviour were more dire.

"People overtaking impatiently when it's not needed can have fatal consequences and other people have to wear those consequences.

"We are all enjoying summer. We should all know the roads are busy so plan your journey and be patient," was his message.