Near-miss head-on crash on Auckland’s Panmure Highway Bridge caught on camera

An Auckland motorist has caught a terrifying near-miss head-on crash on camera and has blamed the close call on “the bloody mess” of a road layout on the Panmure Highway Bridge.

Minister of Transport Simeon Brown called for Auckland Transport (AT) to urgently fix a key safety feature on the bridge – which is in his electorate – last month, telling the Herald it was critical to get the broken cat’s eye lights embedded in the road sorted.

Other motorists voiced concern about the busy stretch of road last month, pointing out the fault with the cat’s eye stud lights showing the correct direction of the dynamic lane. Concerned road users believed an accident was imminent.

In the video, the car capturing the footage follows a victim of the faulty studs as they mistakingly travel on the wrong side of the road into the path of oncoming traffic. The mistake almost causes a head-on collision as another car approaches the bridge and they quickly merge into the correct lane.

The motorist who captured last week’s near-miss told the Herald: “It’s a dangerous bridge and there’s no protection for anyone. It’s a massive safety concern. I travel it daily and already this year I’ve seen someone almost die on that bridge”.

AT earlier said the problem was “not a simple fix”.

Panmure Highway Bridge has a dynamic lane marked by cat's eye lights. Photo / Google

Panmure Highway Bridge before the cat's eye lights were installed. Photo / Google

Brown said: “It is frustrating for local motorists that AT have been unable to fix the cat’s eye lights on the dynamic lane on Panmure Bridge, despite this issue being ongoing for some time.

“I have received advice from Auckland Transport that they are seeking to fix this problem temporarily in coming weeks. However, it is critical that this problem is fixed quickly and permanently in order to keep traffic moving efficiently in and out of East Auckland.”

AT’s road network optimisation manager Chris Martin said AT had decided the “best value and fastest solution” was to improve the white line markings on the road.

“This [improving the markings] will be carried out as the first phase of the solution,” Martin said.

“Currently, the dynamic lanes are operating with gantry signs only as the LEDs have been switched off.

“This is how this dynamic lane operated historically. The in-ground LEDs were installed as an extra safety feature to guide the vehicles.”

The Automobile Association (AA), meanwhile, said it was concerned to hear the lights weren’t working.

“On roads with dynamic lanes like [Pakuranga Rd], overhead signs and road lights (or cat’s eyes) are essential to alert motorists when changes are made to the direction of centre lanes to avoid people inadvertently travelling in the wrong direction,” AA’s Auckland spokesman Martin Glynn told the Herald.

“It is concerning to hear the cat’s eyes on [Pakuranga Rd] may not have been functioning properly given the very important safety function they perform and we trust AT will be working urgently to fix the problem,” Glynn said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

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