The BMW was seen driving recklessly on Moutere Highway near Gardner Valley Rd at around 2pm on Sunday November 27. Video / NZ Police
Police have shared footage of a horrifying near-miss in Nelson after a speeding car crossed the centre line and came centimetres from smashing into an oncoming vehicle.
The video, posted to Nelson Police’s social media pages, shows a BMW accelerating around a right-hand corner while driving along Moutere Highway on Sunday.
The BMW can be seen recklessly cutting the corner and crossing the centre line into the wrong lane.
The oncoming car is seen veering to the left to avoid a horror collision which police have said would have resulted in an “almost certain” fatality.
Senior constable Matt Harris said the actions of the BMW’s driver were idiotic and “reckless” and called on members of the public to help provide any information on the vehicle and driver.
The car was last seen travelling towards Upper Moutere and turning onto George Harvey Rd.
A BMW was seen cutting a corner directly into oncoming traffic in a horrifying near-miss. Photo / Nelson Police
“This was very nearly a devastating high-speed head-on crash that would have almost certainly ended in fatality had it occurred,” says senior constable Matt Harris.
Harris revealed he was the officer who captured the incident on camera.
He said an attempt was made to catch up with the offender in the BMW but due to the speed of the car it wasn’t safe to continue the chase.
Police are wanting to hear from the driver of the oncoming vehicle in the hopes of securing more information as they continue to investigate.
It comes just months after a Kiwi truck driver shared heart-stopping video of near-misses that he says he and his colleagues see daily - and he wants “bulletproof” motorists to pay attention.
Peter Hughes, who operates the New Zealand’s Worst Drivers Facebook page, has over 17 years on our roads - and told the Herald that the problem is only getting worse, despite the Government’s push for a road toll of zero.
The videos show drivers risking death by attempting risky, illegal overtaking manoeuvres and Hughes says they only represent a fraction of what truckies see every day.
When the Herald spoke with Hughes, who pulled over in his truck at 9am, he had already had two near misses since he got on the road that day, saying the potentially-fatal encounters were a “daily occurrence”.
Hughes cast doubt on New Zealand’s ability to reach a zero road toll, saying that while lowered speed limits and wire dividers were “great initiatives”, the onus was on drivers to change their behaviour.
“You can’t fix stupid,” he said, noting that lowered speed limits would not stop frustrated motorists from taking unnecessary risks to speed up their journey.
“You’re still going to get people who are impatient and can’t seem to figure out that it’s two minutes later, or dead.”
Some of the near-misses were a matter of inches. Photo / New Zealand's Worst Drivers
Hughes was critical of the Kiwi perspective that driving was a right and not a privilege, saying our ego often outstrips our ability as drivers.
He said everyone on our roads needs to “lose the tunnel vision” and be more aware of their surroundings.
“There seems to be more of an entitled attitude,” Hughes said, telling the Herald that motorists with that attitude would push the limits on the road “come hell or high water” and irrespective of any changes to road rules.
“People are always going to break the speed limit.”
He said that, in his personal experience, the rate of near misses had increased - which he put down to some having a “bulletproof mentality” when they got behind the wheel.
Hughes told the Herald that foreign drivers were often incorrectly blamed for our high crash rate and said the problem was much closer to home.
