‘A crash waiting to happen’

This stretch of road approaching the intersection of Bloomfield and Bushmere roads is extremely rough and littered with potholes. Four people were taken to Gisborne Hospital after a two-car collision at the intersection on December 29. Police accept the state of the intersection may have contributed. Picture by Paul Rickard

Police and Gisborne District Council are in consultation about the deteriorated state of a rural intersection where a two-car, high-speed crash occurred on December 29, resulting in multiple injuries.

The crash happened at around 5pm. A car containing five Rhythm and  Vines festival-goers from Hawke’s Bay went through the stop sign at the intersection of Bloomfield and Bushmere roads and was hit by another vehicle driven along Bushmere Road by a local resident.

Four of the five in the car, including the teenage driver, suffered moderate injuries and were taken to Gisborne Hospital by ambulance.

The driver of the other car, a man from the Waerenga-a-Hika area, did not require hospital treatment but is still recovering from his injuries.

Both cars sustained substantial damage.

It was estimated at the time that both cars were travelling at around 100kmh.

Police yesterday said the consultation with the district council, which is responsible for the maintenance of both roads, was designed to find ways to improve the intersection.

“It’s accepted by police that the state of the intersection may have contributed to the serious crash,” police said.

“But there are also other factors that contributed to it. We are not able to make further comment on the matter at this time due to our ongoing inquiries into it.”

The Herald has been told by residents that approaching the intersection from the Matawhero side is “very dangerous”.

Gisborne Herald editor Jeremy Muir, after driving through the intersection, wrote an editorial for Wednesday’s Herald, describing it as “a car crash waiting to happen”.

“For 250 metres leading up to the intersection, Bloomfield Road is an uneven mess of warped tarseal and potholes that get worse the closer you get to Bushmere Road,” he wrote.

“The usual warning sign that there is a compulsory stop up ahead is missing on that approach to the intersection.

“White road markings that would normally reinforce the need to stop have faded to almost nothing.

“There is one stop sign, right at the intersection on your left (previously stop signs on either side were about 10m before the intersection; approaching from the other side there are two still as well as a warning sign 200m beforehand).

“It was fortunate indeed that this was not a multiple-fatality crash,” he said.

The Herald has heard the driver of the car that failed to stop missed the sign because she was focused on avoiding the potholes.

Inadequate signage and a lack of functional road markings may have contributed to that.