Mimiha Ridge resident David Hick does not want to see anyone else killed on the Matata Straight. Photo / Troy Baker
Mimiha Ridge resident David Hick does not want to see anyone else killed on the Matata Straight. Photo / Troy Baker
By Whakatane Beacon
The fourth fatal crash in four years on the Matatā straight has prompted a call for passing lanes to improve safety.
With the support of community members, Mimiha Ridge resident David Hick has launched a petition calling on Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to implement passing lanes in both directions on the straight section of State Highway 2 between Pikowai and Matatā.
Eighteen-year-old Keanan Coetzee was the most recent victim of this stretch of road.
Investigations into the cause of the crash were ongoing, but Hick said one life lost this year was "one too many".
Hick travelled the Matatā straight daily and claimed to see at least one example of dangerous driving every time – impatient drivers who used the straight as a chance to overtake other cars and large freight.
He was pivotal in implementing a change of roading layout on Dairy Flat Highway in Auckland following a serious pile-up involving seven cars in 2018.
As a former owner of Giles Civil and having worked in the road industry for 45 years, Hick's help in advocating for road safety improvement saw a new roundabout built at the notoriously dangerous intersection of Dairy Flat Highway and Coatesville/Riverhead Highway.
The number of crashes along the straights since 2001, according to the Waka Kotahi Crash Analysis system. Data for 2022 has not been updated. image / NZTA
He now wants to see similar change on the Matatā straight and has started the ball rolling with a Change.org petition – stating that it is "time for some real action".
"Yet another life lost on this notorious section of road, and sadly it won't be the last," Hick said.
"State Highway 2 takes on a new life beyond the end of the Tauranga Eastern Link. There are no passing bays and few sections of road that are safe to pass. The approaches on either end of the Matatā Straight are winding and do not have many overtaking opportunities and the straight is seen as a last chance to overtake heavy vehicles."
The road is busy, and nearly all freight to the Eastern Bay of Plenty travels down the straights.
"There is no alternative – 99.9 per cent of all freight that comes to Whakatāne is by road," Hicks said.
There has been a fatal crash along this stretch of road every year for the past four years, leaving six people dead.
There have also been fatal crashes on the winding section of the road at the western end of the straight in 2016, 2017 and 2018, according to Waka Kotahi's road traffic crash database; Crash Analysis System (CAS).
Each fatal crash costs Waka Kotahi over $5 million, according to its 2019 social cost of road crash statistics.
There have been no serious crashes but 24 minor crashes on the straight in the past 10 years. Fatal crashes are listed separately.
Whakatāne road policing manager Sergeant Chris Howard said all the recent fatal crashes along the Matatā straight, except one, were caused by driver error, and were not the fault of the road or speed.
The locations where David Hick believes passing lanes would be feasible along State Highway 2 between Matatā and Pikowai. Graphic / David Hick
"It's not the road, it's the driver, that's what's causing our fatals," he said.
"A passing lane may help, but the crashes were not the result of an overtaking manoeuvre.
"I would recommend more stopping bays or slow bays for trucks and heavy vehicles. Anything to improve a road is great, but people just need to be patient.
"That's what we keep seeing - impatience. Good on the community out there for doing something, we would definitely support it, but what we are trying to do is just get people to be patient and drive to the conditions."
Waka Kotahi director of regional relationships David Spiers confirmed no passing lane or upgrade projects were planned for this section of road in the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme.
However, the Police Serious Crash Unit was leading the investigation into the most recent crash, and Spiers said Waka Kotahi would consider any recommendations the police made.
Spiers also said that adding additional lanes would be "more complicated than it may appear", because a large amount of the land adjacent to the state highway on the water side was designated rail corridor, and the land side mostly comprised of steep cliffs.
Hick disagreed with Waka Kotahi's "complicated" standpoint.
He has used his experience and expertise to determine that a passing lane on the road between Matatā and Herepuru Rd heading westward, and before Murphy's Holiday Camp heading eastward, would be the best course of action.
"From my 45-odd years of road design and construction, it would be more than feasible to fit those two passing lanes in without impacting the railway or having issues with the escarpment," he said.
Hick was concerned the "next move" by Waka Kotahi might be to reduce the speed limit to 80km/h, which he thought would cause more issues.
"Reducing the speed would probably increase the amount of overtaking. Overtaking is the problem. The heavy transport drivers are very responsible drivers, but they have little or no opportunities to pull over and let traffic pass, which results in unsafe driving practices," he said.
Howard agreed that speed was not the issue.
"All of our fatals bar one were not speed-related. The impacts are all at about 90km/h," he said.
The Matatā community has expressed opinions for and against passing lanes.
In one comment to Facebook, a local wrote, "I see nothing wrong with this road. It is predominantly straight apart from the end by Otamarakau. Drivers need to drive to conditions", while another said, "I would certainly support a petition. Love to see a couple of passing bays on the straights."
To sign the petition, go to https://www.change.org/p/to-nzta-to-install-passing-lanes-matata-straight.
