Pleas have been made to have a stop sign installed at a Waddington intersection.

Residents have asked for the sign to be installed at the intersection of State Highway 73 and Waimakariri Gorge Rd to prevent future crashes.

Already two serious crashes have been recorded at the intersection this year, one a fatal.

Fox Glacier man Ioane Sitivi, 36, died from injuries he sustained when two vehicles crashed in January.

He was one of eight people hurt in the crash. He and another person were critically injured, while two others were moderately injured and four had minor injuries.

In February, a sport utility vehicle failed to give way and was hit by a truck. One person sustained serious injuries while the other had minor injuries.

Three other crashes that resulted in both serious and minor injuries were recorded at the intersection between 2014-2016.

The issue was presented by resident Bob Scott to the Sheffield-Waddington Community Committee in February.

Scott said the current give way sign is difficult for people to see when they pull up to the intersection and the corner is busy with signage.

"Our argument is if there is a compulsory stop there and at a height where they can see it out of a car window we are sure that would perhaps reduce some of the near misses we have had," he said.

A meeting has since been held between residents and district councillors Bob Mugford and Nicole Reid.

Cr Reid told Selwyn Times she raised the issue with the NZ Transport Agency at the district council's road safety sub-committee meeting last week.

NZTA senior traffic and safety engineer David Scarlet said a stop sign is normally used when there is limited visibility and in this case there is good visibility for both intersections.

"In rural environments, in particular, with low traffic volumes, people will not automatically stop just because there is a stop sign in place," he said.

He said it will be talking to police about factors in the recent crash to see if there are helpful interventions or changes that could be made to make it safer.

Nearby resident Casey de Bruin said he felt it was driver inattention more than a signage issue.

But he said he couldn't see why a stop sign wasn't installed at the intersection when it was redesigned about 10-12 years ago.

Senior Constable Andy Grant would not be drawn on whether he thought the stop sign needed to be put in or if the intersection had safety issues.

He said it was a matter for NZTA and drivers needed to slow down and give way to other traffic.

Sheffield Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Neville Croy said it is the driver, not the intersection.

"Whether a stop sign would do any difference I don't know . . . if the drivers looked when they were meant to there wouldn't be a crash," he said.

- Star.kiwi