'This is how people die': Near miss in tourist hotspot shocks driver

The driver seemed convinced he was doing the right thing. Photo / Supplied

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Shocking footage shows a driver going towards oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road, then telling the other person to move.

Dashcam footage captured by Matamata local Steve May shows a Mazda station wagon turning on to a road on the wrong lane and driving head on towards his car.

May, who lives in the area, says the incident happened on Thursday morning, near the turnoff to Hobbiton, a popular tourist spot.

The driver seemed convinced he was doing the right thing. Photo / Supplied

He says he suspects the driver of the vehicle was a tourist as "locals would know better" than to drive on the wrong side of the road and then point like they were in the right.

"It's a notorious spot," May says of that particular intersection.

"The locals are not surprised," he says, adding that there are a lot of near misses in that area, especially with increased traffic over the summer period.

May says the incident left him "disappointed" and hopes the footage will raise awareness for the need to follow the road code in New Zealand.

"This is how people die," he said.