Motorist on wrong side for 3km

Senior Sergeant Ian Campion

An elderly woman seriously injured in a crash had driven more than 3km on the wrong side of the road along one of Tauranga's busiest arterial routes, police say.

The woman's vehicle was seen travelling east along Takitimu Drive about 5.45pm on Sunday before colliding head-on with another vehicle.

Western Bay of Plenty head of road policing Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said police received several calls about the driver and were looking for her when the crash happened near the east-bound 15th Ave merging lane.

Mr Campion said the woman, a local resident, approached the highway from the Moffat Rd roundabout.

The woman suffered moderate to serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to Tauranga Hospital. She was in a stable condition yesterday.

The occupants of the second vehicle, a woman, and two teens were also taken to hospital. It is understood they suffered minor injuries and were discharged shortly after.

"They were obviously driving the correct way and saw the oncoming vehicle a bit too late. They braked hard but were unable to avoid the collision," Mr Campion said.

The incident is the latest in a string of reports of elderly drivers travelling on the wrong side of the road in Tauranga, usually on the Tauranga Eastern Link. In November, police were aware of at least 12 incidents involving drivers travelling on the wrong side of the road in Tauranga. Most involved elderly drivers.

"There has been a worrying trend on the Tauranga Eastern Link of drivers driving the wrong way, particularly in the first few weeks since it opened, but that's reduced significantly," Mr Campion said.

"However, this of course is a completely different highway. It's a bit of a surprise really that someone could drive on the wrong side of the road for just over 3km, so I guess my advice to people is if you are unsure, pull over and stop. That's the first thing you need to do once you have realised you have made a mistake. It could have serious repercussions if you don't."

Mr Campion said police were yet to speak to the elderly driver or occupants of the second vehicle. Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson, who edits dogandlemon.com, said he would like to see police get tougher on people driving on the wrong side of the road.

"The police already have the power to temporarily disqualify drivers who speed. Any driver caught travelling on the wrong side of the road without a lawful excuse should also be liable to instant disqualification for, say, 28 days," Mr Matthew-Wilson said.

"This strategy would be much more effective than merely ticketing the driver, because it would remove both the driver and the vehicle from the equation. Fines don't stop drivers repeating mistakes. Disqualification and loss of vehicle does."