Road crashes up 25 per cent in Western Bay

Western Bay of Plenty crashes have increased by 25 per cent as car number soar. Crashes include the deaths of five Tongan nationals on SH2 and the two deaths of people changing a car tyre on SH29a.

The number of crashes on Western Bay of Plenty roads in the past seven months is already 25 per cent higher than the year before.

Police figures showed there were 939 crashes in the Western Bay policing district in the 2015/2016 financial year. In the first seven months of the 2016/2017 financial year there were 1179.

Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said the increase in cars on the road was largely responsible for the "huge" increase in crashes.

"I think part of the reason is that we have significantly more traffic on our roads this fiscal year."

Mr Campion said the bulk of the crashes were non-injury or minor-injury prangs, although the region's 2016 road toll was the worst in 10 years with 19 deaths.

Most of the crashes were preventable, he said.

They mostly related to distraction - "not concentrating on the task at hand, and breaches of minor traffic rules".

Mr Campion said people needed to accept delays resulting from Tauranga being the fifth-biggest city in the country.

"It takes longer to get places and people need to factor that into their journey times and concentrate on what they are doing," he said.

"We've also had an increase in road-rage incidents and that's related to driver frustration."

Mr Campion said officers were now dealing with several road rage incidents a week which was "probably double or triple" what they were dealing with a year ago.

"Most of them are totally uncalled for. It's just a reflection of that frustration drivers are feeling. The bulk of them are low-level type incidents and unnecessary."

But it was not all bad news. Mr Campion said he had noticed drivers becoming more considerate with many motorists more willing to let traffic out from side roads and merging better.

Grace Rd and Neighbourhood Residents Association member and architectural designer Phil Green said he and other members had noticed a considerable increase in traffic, particularly in The Avenues.

He was not surprised by the increase in crashes and said access between side roads and Fraser Rd was becoming more difficult while drivers were using The Avenues as a shortcut to Turret Rd.

The number of businesses popping up on Fraser St was also creating traffic chaos.

Mr Green said there was no quick fix, but park and rides from some of the further suburbs and smaller but more frequent buses might help reduce the volume of traffic which in turn could reduce the number of crashes.

By the numbers
There was also a 15.6 per cent increase in infringement notices issued for basic road rule breaches like failing to stop at a stop sign and following too close. In the 2016/2017 financial year to January 31 there were 4038 breaches recorded compared to 3494 in the 2015/2016 year.

In most crashes police attended at least one person was ticketed for breaking basic road rules which lead to the crash, Mr Campion said.

The number of high-risk drivers prosecuted or issued with infringement notices in the Western Bay had also increased by 4.5 per cent, from 4708 to 4921, in the same time period.

Included in those figures were penalties for driving drunk or drugged, speeding, sustained loss of traction and dangerous overtaking manoeuvres, Mr Campion said.

Crash has lasting impact on Aongatete Coolstore staff

FATAL: Five Tongan men died in a crash as they left the Aongetete Coolstore in August. PHOTO/FILE

Eight months after the crash which claimed the lives of five Tongan coolstore workers, fresh flowers continue to be dropped off at a memorial garden created to remember them.

Sitiveni Vaipulu, 44, Koli Vaipulu, 21, Halani Fine, 28, Samuela Taukatelata, 28, and Sione Teulaka, 21, were all killed when their vehicle collided with a logging truck as they left the Aongatete Coolstore after a day of work on August 2.

Packhouse manager Clive Exelby said the company had opened a memorial garden at the packhouse entrance to coincide with the end of the traditional Tongan 100 days of mourning.

Mr Exelby said the impact of the deaths would be felt again when Tongan seasonal workers returned in mid-March. Among them would be the two surviving children of Sitiveni Vaipulu, who was killed along with his son Koli, and the brother-in-law of one of the other victims.

Returning to the packhouse would be two women who were in the car directly behind the five and who had been severely affected by the collision.

"With them coming back it will arouse the memory of what happened on that day," he said.

Mr Exelby said the increase in crashes was of concern because he and staff at the packhouse had seen first-hand the devastation it could cause.

"Our [work] family, their lives have been turned upside down by these type of crashes."

He said the company's managing director had been pushing for upgrades to State Highway 2 around the coolstore but acknowledged that "the onus is still on the individual driver".