A cricket ball that gave a motorist mother a nasty fright on an Auckland motorway has prompted a hasty meeting between a high school and the department that runs New Zealand's roads.
The woman was driving her children on Auckland's Northern Motorway on Saturday when a particularly well-struck cricket ball from nearby Westlake Boys' High School bounced on to the road and hit her car.
The ball did not shatter the windscreen but mother and children were left in some distress, Westlake headmaster Craig Monaghan told the Herald.
The school and the Transport Agency are now working on finding a way to protect motorists from any more hurtling cricket balls.
"I got straight on the phone to the mother and we had a good conversation,"" Mr Monaghan said.
"I assured her that we have been in constant dialogue with [the agency] over this."
Only the Northern Busway separates Westlake Boys' High School from the Northern Motorway.
The Transport Agency's regional director for Auckland and Northland, Wayne McDonald, said there was always a danger of balls landing on roads that ran alongside sports grounds.
He said the agency tried its best to minimise any risks.
It had worked with Westlake Boys' High to build fences and plant trees between the lower sports field and the motorway.
But a belt of trees had to be removed to make way for the busway.
The fence was made as high as possible and a new row of trees was planted, but it would be a while before they were high enough to stop cricket balls, Mr McDonald said.
In the short term, the school has taken other precautions to ensure balls do not end up on the motorway - cricket games have been moved from the lower field.
Mr Monaghan said that as far as he knew, Saturday's incident was the first time a school cricket ball had been hit as far as the motorway.
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