Watch: State Highway 5 near-miss captured on dashcam footage

Taradale man Chris Whiteman was looking forward to spending the long weekend in Taupō with his wife and their 6-year-old daughter.

It almost didn't happen though.

Just a few kilometres south of their destination on State Highway 5, they narrowly avoided a high-impact crash with another car as it turned across their lane.

Dashcam footage from Whiteman's car shows the terrifying moment another SUV attempted to pull out on to the highway directly in front of them.

Dashcam footage captures the moment a Taradale family narrowly avoided a high-impact collision on State Highway 5. Photo / Supplied

With another car travelling in the southbound lane next to them there was little room to avoid it.

"It was unbelievable. I have never had it that close.

"I just thought, 'what are you doing?'

"It's a straight bit of road - they must have seen us."

The car behind them, which also stopped after narrowly avoiding the crash, had an 8-month-old baby inside.

Chris Whiteman was driving to Taupō for the long weekend with his wife and six-year-old daughter Savannah in the car when they had a near miss. Photo / Supplied

Whiteman said he drove the Napier-Taupō Rd about once a month but had never come so close to being involved in a crash himself.

"I've seen a few silly manoeuvres that people do on that road to get just one car in front."

Whiteman didn't report the incident to police, but said poor driver behaviour is one of the reasons he's made his own submission to NZTA Waka Kotahi over its proposal to lower the speed limit on SH5 from 100km/h to 80km/h.

Chris Whiteman had never had such a close call as when a car attempted to pull out in front of them on State Highway 5. Photo / Supplied

He said the reduced speed would make impatient drivers take more risks.

"It will frustrate people. No doubt.

"I think it will make the situation worse."

Whiteman said he'd rather see more of a focus on driver education and better policing on the road.

Waka Kotahi director regional relationships Emma Speight said the proposal was not a matter of choosing speed limit drops over other solutions, like driver education.

"We need to take action in all of these areas.

"Lowering speeds doesn't mean we can't make other changes, but it is one of the most effective things we can do now to keep people alive and safe on this road."