Video of car on wrong side of Waihi Rd in Tauranga goes viral on Facebook

A video of a car driving the wrong way on a four-lane road in Tauranga has had more than 8000 views on Facebook.

Tauranga resident Paul Wannop shot the video of the car on Waihi Rd about 7.30pm on Saturday. Since then it has been shared 44 times and viewed more than 8000 times.

Wannop and his partner were heading north toward Eleventh Ave when they saw a dark-coloured sedan exit the Koromiko St roundabout on the wrong side of the road.

The car was travelling north in the southbound lane of Waihi Rd, heading into oncoming traffic.

Wannop said the car seemed to slow and "hesitate" but eventually continued in the wrong lane.

In the video, a sedan indicates left as it crosses the Takitimu Dr overbridge but a traffic island separates the two directions. At the intersection of Waihi Rd and the Takitimu Dr exit ramp, the car uses a southbound merger lane to cross over into the northbound lane and continue towards Eleventh Ave.

The reported path of the car. Graphic/Google Maps

Wannop said they last saw the car turning on to Cameron Rd.

Wannop said the driving was so bad he thought the occupants were either unlicensed, tourists or new to New Zealand.

He posted the 20-second video to a Tauranga community Facebook page where it has garnered a lot of attention.

"It's gone viral," Wannop said.

Some commenters also claimed to have seen the same car driving erratically that night.

Wannop said he reported the incident to police today.

Police have been contacted for comment.