'Recipe for disaster': Locals warned of speeding drivers before fatal bus crash in Meadowbank, Auckland

The crumpled remains of the blue Audi after a fatal head-on collision with a bus on Gowing Drive. Photo / Hayden Woodward

A local board member has criticised inadequate road safety measures on the stretch of road that claimed a life in Meadowbank yesterday.

A man in his 20s died after his car slammed into a bus on Gowing Drive yesterday.

Police say it appeared he had been speeding and crossed the centre line on a blind corner.

Nine people were injured in the crash, including five children.

Orakei Local Board's Carmel Claridge told Newstalk ZB the crash was even more tragic in the face of local efforts to get safety improvements on the road.

"Speeding has been an issue for the residents of Gowing Drive, and immediate neighbours, for decades," she said.

"This is something that won't come as a huge surprise to the local community, unfortunately."

The road was steep in parts and had blind corners, she said

"Combine those factors with excessive speed and you have really got a recipe for disaster, and unfortunately disaster did strike."

Introducing speed bumps would be problematic, because it was a bus route, but there were a range of options that Auckland Transport could use to reduce the speed, Claridge said.

Speed bumps were an outdated mode of thinking, she said.

It was enormously frustrating that changes had not been made as the problem had been pointed out to Auckland Transport often and recently, she said.

"It is really, really, disappointing that they don't act with some kind of urgency, and unfortunately it has been too late on this occasion."

An Auckland Transport spokeswoman told Newstalk ZB it would soon consult on a speed management bylaw which, once approved, would enable a drop in speed limits in certain areas.

"If a person is hit by a vehicle travelling at 50km/h, there is an 80 per cent chance of them dying. If the speed is 30km/hr, the risk of death is 10 per cent."

Slower speed limits would be introduced first in high-risk areas and town centres.

"This includes the city centre, Mission Bay and St Heliers town centres.

"As part of our assessment for safe speeds, we have investigated all residential suburbs, including Meadowbank, for speed management and the areas have been ranked to ensure we address the areas of greatest risk first.

"While Meadowbank is not in the programme for this financial year, we appreciate the feedback from residents and their desire to see safer speeds in their neighbourhoods."

Senior Sergeant Matt Rogers said it appeared the driver involved in Saturday's crash, a male in his late 20s, had been speeding down Gowing Dr with a male passenger.

It is believed the car crossed the centre line as it came around a blind corner, crashing head-on with a bus on its regular route about 11.30am.

"It is tragic. If he had not been speeding he'd be off having a beer with his mates right now," Rogers said.