It was a 100kmh zone but a stretch of road where cars were often slowing down for the 50kmh area or speeding up having just passed through it.
The woman was more seriously injured but in a stable condition. Both had been taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, she said.
"We're just lucky with the modern cars that they've got the airbags and the impact bouyancy, they've both been very lucky and you can tell that by the state of the vehicles," Mrs Shadbolt said.