Policing and luck combine for fatality-free long weekend

Holiday traffic leaving Whangarei on Labour Weekend Monday. Photo/Tania Whyte

Driving 1260km in five days gives you an interesting perspective on motorists' behaviour.

Whangarei to Tauranga and back in 48 hours offered a chance to experience Auckland's traffic congestion around its motorway system's on and off ramps.

And be reminded of how frustration must become a factor in motorists' behaviour (and ultimately accidents) after they have sat, as our family did, for almost an hour, crawling into Auckland in the vicinity of the Ellerslie exit.

With very little to look at (the Tip Top sign is a welcome distraction) I couldn't help but think it was an ideal location for roadside advertising, given the longer exposure marketing messages get each week day or public holiday.

At the other end of the scale was the occasional long straights of State Highway 2.

Nothing of SH27's magnitude, en route to Matamata (the Chiefs Super Rugby management pronounce it "mutter mutter") but enough to create a brake-slamming moment as an approaching green/cream Nissan Terrano overtook an oncoming car and appeared to not see us.

It is the second incident in a few months that has caused palpitations. At Kawakawa, an oncoming car lost control in appalling road conditions, slid past us, narrowly missed our boot, spun 360 degrees and slammed into a bank.

As we called 111, I thought we were phoning in a fatality but the driver survived.

Both incidents were reminders that fatigue doesn't just cause crashes, it also dulls reactions of drivers who might not cause the accident, but find themselves thrown into life-threatening situations.

At the long weekend, Auckland and back was a shorter haul with holiday congestion thrown into the mix.

It was remarkable for two reasons - the volume of police on the road, and the fact that we left South Auckland at 5.30pm and missed any congestion heading into Auckland.

The remnants of the south-bound traffic were still evident - it was no longer nose-to-tail from Warkworth to Auckland, but there were still lengthy caravans of south-bound vehicles snaking south.

And the best part - there were no fatal accidents in Northland over the weekend.

A combination of policing, driver behaviour, and - based on my recent experience - sheer luck.