Far North farmer Paddy Gleeson wants urgent repairs on State Highway 10 outside his property after three vehicles in one week, including one towing a boat, crashed into his paddock during wet weather. 

Then on Thursday night last week, another car crashed there, into the paddock of another farm on the other side of the highway from Gleeson, again in wet weather. 

In the latest crash, with three children believed to have been in the vehicle, the driver was taken to hospital in a critical condition and four other people received minor injuries, police said. The crash happened at 7.36pm, and police inquiries were ongoing to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident. 

Jacqui Hori-Hoult, regional manager maintenance and operations NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said it is aware of seal flushing issues on the section of SH10 near Kaingaroa and is addressing the issue as a matter of priority, with permanent repair work due to start on Tuesday. 

“We know this is causing a slick surface for road users and are addressing this issue as a priority,” Hori-Hoult said. ”Our assessment team have already put a reduced speed limit of 50km/h in place in the area and further traffic management was implemented over the weekend due to wet weather. 

“Our contractor will be using a technique called water cutting to re-texturise the road, so we don’t have to wait until summer to carry out this work. As this work is part of our network maintenance and operations, we are unable to provide costs for this specific work.” 

Gleeson owns a property on SH10 at Kaingaroa, between Taipā and Awanui, and said when it rains, the thin road surface is like glass to drive on and too many motorists go too fast for the conditions. 

The stretch of road had a 100km/h limit, but NZTA last year reduced the speed on the stretch of highway outside Gleeson’s paddock, including a notorious bend, to 70km/h. Earlier this year it was reduced further to 50kmh, but Gleeson said people still drive too fast, despite the reduced limit and warning signs telling people to slow down when it’s wet. 

The nearby bend is where two people died in a crash about 18 months ago, and Gleeson fear more deaths and serious injuries if the road is not fixed soon. 

Gleeson said he spoke to an NZTA person in Whangārei about his concerns last week and said he felt fobbed off. He said he was told that the Brynderwyns are taking priority and there were no plans, at this stage, to upgrade the stretch of road. 

“All it needs is a new coat of chip to improve the grip,” he reckons. 

“It’s the road pure and simple, it’s like glass when it rains, and putting signs up obviously hasn’t worked at all as most still seem to be doing 80-100km/h. To have three vehicles in one week come off the road here is just not on. The corner and this stretch is dangerous and NZTA needs to get its act together and sort it out as soon as possible before there are more accidents. It’s winter and there will be a lot more rain on that road, and if it’s not fixed, more will come off [into his paddock].” 

The skid marks where a vehicle towing a boat slipped off the road and into Paddy Gleeson’s paddock, narrowly missing a power pole. Photo / Mike Dinsdale 

Gleeson said he felt a bit sorry for the people who had crashed into his paddock, but said it was an inconvenience, and costly, to constantly have to repair the fences and pull vehicles from the paddock. 

“We’ve had those two deaths on the corner about 18 months ago and I don’t want to see more deaths here. NZTA has got to sort it out, and soon. It’s a joke that we have to wait and wait and lives are at risk while they decide what to do. We can’t wait for more people to die here.” 

He was shocked, but not surprised, that another vehicle had left the road in wet weather. 

“It sounds like the driver was badly injured, too.” 

Christine Goldsmith, who runs the Northland Potholes Facebook group, is also concerned about the dangerous corner and stretch of SH10 and the lack of action from NZTA to fix it. 

“It’s right by [where] the double truck fatality [was] last year. On SH10 at the Kaiangaroa end is a corner with a very shiny surface. Many vehicles have slid off here and some have ended up in a paddock. It’s been over a year since the fatalities so why hasn’t NZTA had this corner fixed?” Goldsmith said. 

“We do not want another fatality here. I’ve posted the site again on Northland Potholes, and emailed NZTA over a month ago and previously with nothing done to fix the road. A 70km sign was the only thing they have done and even at 70km vehicles still slid off the flushed road. 50km signs have been put up but that’s not stopping the problem that is the road surface.” 

Mike Dinsdale is the editor of the Northland Age who also covers general news for the Advocate. He has worked in Northland for almost 34 years and loves the region.