Motorcyclist comes to grief on wet, greasy road

Helpers tend to a man who crashed while riding his motorbike on SH1 at Kauri yesterday. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A wet and greasy road got the better of a motorcyclist yesterday, who suffered serious injuries when he crashed on State Highway 1 north of Whangarei.

The accident occurred just before 10.20am, when the motorcyclist went to overtake another vehicle.

Police spokeswoman Beth Bates said it appeared the man had braked on the "wet, greasy" road, before sliding across the road into a ditch.

His was the only vehicle involved and he was taken to Whangarei Hospital with suspected broken bones.

Speed "for the conditions" was a likely factor, Ms Bates said.

The accident happened on SH1 near Fonterra's Kauri Dairy Factory, a hot spot for serious crashes in the past year.

This stretch of highway made headlines late last year, when it was the scene of three serious crashes in 10 days.