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00:00New Zealand's highways, 11,000 kilometers of some of the most spectacular and unforgiving roads on the planet.
00:10Over a thousand dedicated road safety staff are tasked with keeping our highways and byways safe.
00:20It can be a bit scary being in a car crash so I thought we'd just give you a teddy.
00:23It's a job that brings its own perils.
00:27He left his head. She is wild.
00:30And rewards.
00:31I like the police here. Please smile.
00:33Come to New Zealand, be famous.
00:35Stay safe on the road.
00:37This is Highway Cops.
00:41Tonight, impatience on a holiday highway.
00:43Suddenly I've had enough into Corolla and it's come spitting across the road straight sort of towards us.
00:49Brings it to a halt.
00:50What are these idiots doing? They're going past 100 kilometers an hour.
00:54A few drinks after work.
00:56The reason I stopped you, you're going too fast.
00:58Yeah, no, it's all my fun nights.
01:00Mean an early night in Cromwell.
01:03You're still pissed.
01:18At the head of Lake Wakatipu, Klenorki is the gateway to paradise and many familiar movie locations.
01:27But today, Constable James McDonald is not looking for orcs, lions or dragons.
01:34It's a road that's quite windy and technical.
01:37And although at times it doesn't have a lot of traffic on it, we have had quite a few vehicle
01:42crashes in the past.
01:43So it's quite a technical sort of route.
01:45People crossing the centre line, blind corners and that's where we run into a bit of trouble.
01:51Like that.
01:53It looks like a fridge.
01:55Yeah, it should be interesting.
01:57A convertible with an unexpected passenger, which could be a huge tub full of trouble.
02:03It's like a tub.
02:05He looks impressed, doesn't he?
02:09You caught my attention.
02:10I thought I might.
02:12Got him home to do the washing.
02:13Where have you brought this from?
02:15Fernhill.
02:16Oh, okay.
02:17Have you just brought it or?
02:19What, the car?
02:21Yeah, the car's another thing as well, isn't it?
02:24Isn't it a classic?
02:27A classic with everything, including the kitchen sink.
02:31I've also got an electric fence in the boot that I intend to catch some thieves up at Kinlock with.
02:36Oh, okay.
02:38Yeah, so obviously my concern is that you've got this in your car and it's not secure.
02:44And it's right in your driving sort of cockpit area as well.
02:48So if you're strapped into there and you get yourself in a crash, where's all this stuff going?
02:55Could be a disaster.
02:57That's all.
02:58It could also protect me.
03:01Considerably.
03:03It could be a lot of things.
03:05Could be a lot of things.
03:06It depends on you whether you're an optimist or a pessimist.
03:09Yeah.
03:09But what are we going to do with you?
03:11That's the thing, you know.
03:12Wow.
03:13Put it in the boot and take it home for me, I suppose.
03:16And come and investigate these thefts that are around the road.
03:19Or we can just trickle on home quietly or we can throw it over the bank.
03:23It didn't cost me anything.
03:24It won't fit into the police car and illegal dumping is, well, illegal.
03:28So those are not an option.
03:30So what were you thinking when you were like, right, I'm going to go into Queensland today to pick up
03:35a sink and you're like, I'll just put it on the car?
03:40Well, it's in the car. The car just hasn't got a roof.
03:45I mean, no.
03:47On or in?
03:48A question for the ages.
03:50A good search reveals to James it is securely wedged in the car and some ties help keep it secure.
03:58But what about the car?
04:00It's an old silly car.
04:02Yeah.
04:03It's like me.
04:03The body's not flashed but the motor's all right, you know.
04:06So there you go.
04:08Can you see my concern potentially?
04:11Not at all.
04:12Not at all.
04:15The only problem I'm going to have is somebody comes around the corner and hits me.
04:18Yeah, yeah, that's it.
04:19So that's what we just need you to be thinking about.
04:22One final check that the tub's not moving and James confirms the drive home will be slow and careful.
04:27So what I'm going to do is I'm going to write you up a written traffic warning so that it's
04:32noted in our system to say that you have been stopped and spoken to in relation to an insecure load.
04:37Get home nice and safely.
04:39Let's take it nice and easy.
04:41He's a likeable sort of guy.
04:43He's just trying to get it back home.
04:46I think he's acknowledged what I was trying to say to him and potentially the effects that could happen if
04:52he wasn't involved in a crash.
04:53So yeah, I think he's taken that on board.
05:03The 19 kilometre stretch of highway between Cambridge and Pierrere in the Waikato appears on a couple of top ten
05:10lists.
05:11One for spectacular lakeside driving and one for a very high crash rate.
05:19And today, Senior Constable Casey Walker is trying to get through very slow holiday traffic to get to yet another
05:26crash near the lake.
05:27We're off to a two car vehicle crash on State Highway 1 near Kentucky Road.
05:34Unknown injuries at this stage.
05:36We've got one unit ahead of us and so they'll arrive before us and give us an update when they
05:40get there.
05:41It's the notorious section of State Highway 1.
05:44Oh, this is going to be fun because there's wire barriers up here too.
05:49We just can't get through here.
05:51It's just going to be this one.
05:53CBQ, CBT, just give us an update when you can.
05:55We're stuck in traffic by the wire ropes.
05:58We've got one vehicle off the road, one in the middle of the road, partially blocking.
06:02They're probably going to need towing.
06:04Yeah, we'll just make our way down when we can.
06:06If the patrol car is struggling to get through, there's no way tow trucks will be able to get to
06:11the crash site.
06:12Good thing it's got a whole spare lane up here, so that's good.
06:18Casey finally gets through to find an ambulance already in attendance, as well as another officer.
06:23And not two, but three damaged cars spread across both sides of the road.
06:29I've got your sign and I just want to put it down there.
06:31Oh, yeah, sure.
06:32Another officer tries unsuccessfully to get the blue car out of the middle of the road
06:37and Casey fires out warning signs and hazard alerts to try and slow traffic past the scene.
06:43With emergency staff and victims of the crash everywhere, it's imperative that traffic remains slow and careful.
06:51Hiya.
06:52Hiya.
06:52How are you?
06:52Oh, not too bad.
06:54Better than you guys.
06:55Just put the tyre in the bottom, mate.
06:57And when you're all fully loaded, yep.
07:00They have been hit, but changing the tyre may mean they can drive home, if they can get down to
07:06the spare tyre in the boot.
07:07How many people in your vehicle?
07:09Um, just six of us.
07:11Six of us, right?
07:12Do you just want to quickly run me through what happened?
07:13Yes, I was in the car, four.
07:15Suddenly I put him up into Corolla and he's come spinning across the road straight, sort of towards us.
07:29On State Highway 1 by Lake Karupero, heavy holiday traffic is backed up for kilometres after a three-car crash.
07:37We'll just see how far away that tow is and make a plan once I've had a look.
07:41But you guys stay dry in the meantime, eh?
07:43Senior Constable Casey Walker is interviewing everyone involved to piece together what happened.
07:49Suddenly, I don't know if it's a Corolla, he's come spinning across the road straight, sort of towards us.
07:55So I've gone as hard as I can to the left, tried to straighten again, but he's just clipped.
07:59Clipped the side of you there.
08:00Pretty much on my daughter's door there.
08:02Yeah.
08:03And hit, yeah, the impact I think is the back.
08:05I thought it was going to be head on for a second.
08:07Yeah, we're doing very nasty, eh?
08:09Yeah, yeah.
08:09It happens quite quickly, yeah.
08:13You don't really have a lot of time to react, so, nah, but just thankfully everyone's okay.
08:18Yeah.
08:19But, um, I don't know.
08:21I couldn't have guys might have been coming up the passing lane and had to brake a bit
08:25fast.
08:26So you guys are not hurt or anything like that?
08:29No.
08:29It's a bit shaken up.
08:30Yeah, absolutely.
08:32Oh.
08:32Still taking.
08:33Yeah.
08:34Okay, so just require to undergo a breast screening test without delay.
08:37All right, away we go.
08:41Yep, that's fine.
08:43Let's get to hold that tube there.
08:45Yep, sure.
08:46Over on the other side of the road, the car in the ditch is going to have more trouble
08:50extracting their luggage.
08:52Well, we're still on holidays.
08:53We're from Perth.
08:55Yeah.
08:55So we're in Hamilton and we're heading over to Taronga.
08:58We were travelling south and I was watching the traffic in front.
09:03Red lights were coming on so I was slowing down and I wasn't even looking behind and he
09:06just ran into the back of me.
09:08So, yeah, that's basically it.
09:09Spun us round and ended up on the edge of the road.
09:12Yeah.
09:13And I said to Paul, I said, what are these idiots doing?
09:16They're going past 100 kilometres an hour and I thought, what's down there?
09:19Just impatient.
09:20Yeah.
09:20Yeah.
09:21And then I hardly got those words out of my mouth and we got rear-ended and, yeah,
09:26we didn't know.
09:26I didn't see them coming.
09:28Casey has the story from two of the drivers involved and there's one more version.
09:33What's your guy saying?
09:35Um, so he was in the left-hand lane.
09:37This is your car?
09:38The blue one?
09:39Blue car, yeah.
09:39Yeah.
09:40Out of nowhere, he's just then seen a queue of cars in front of him.
09:44He slammed on the brakes and pulled into the right-hand lane to avoid the car in front
09:48of him.
09:49As he's gone around it, he's obviously lost some traction at the back of it.
09:53And spun that one around.
09:54Spun all the way around, but he wanted him in the car to be safe again.
09:59The ambulance is leaving with the driver of the blue car and Casey has a fair idea of
10:04the causes of this highway snarlup.
10:07So looking at a few different contributing factors, we've got possibly following too
10:11closely.
10:12Um, distraction, not paying attention to the road, um, the traffic volumes, uh, and the
10:18driving conditions are obviously not ideal.
10:20I've had some pretty bad weather lately and the roads are slippery, so people just not
10:23driving to the conditions.
10:24Toe trucks have been called for the rear-ended car in the ditch, as well as the Toyota.
10:29But the third car has managed to change their tyre, which means they can drive home.
10:34Kids are a bit happier, so we'll just go on our way and make it ourselves home, eh?
10:38But the blue car that has spun its way into holiday traffic hell has created one more task
10:44for Casey.
10:46At least it's not raining.
10:49One final stop for traffic in both directions and the crash site is clear.
10:53We're really fortunate that there's no major injuries in this crash.
10:56Being State Highway 1, the traffic is, um, bumper to bumper the whole way up and, um, it's
11:02a notorious stretch of State Highway 1 for serious crashes.
11:11The change of seasons in central Otago is spectacular, no matter which road you're on.
11:17These views, the autumn colours, the place is just stunning.
11:21Senior Constable Graham Buttar has had a hectic day.
11:25Roads have been exceptionally busy.
11:27Everybody floods into central Otago for their holidays, so a lot of people around.
11:33Front, opposite, closing.
11:35Where are you guys from?
11:37Venture.
11:37Lovely.
11:38Welcome to New Zealand.
11:39You're meant to be going slower.
11:41You're not allowed to do what you just did.
11:43If there's two lanes, always choose the left one.
11:46Any reason for your enthusiasm?
11:47The ticket will be posted to you.
11:49It's an $80 fine.
11:50It's going to be 35 demerit points.
11:53Right.
11:53Be good.
11:54See you.
11:55Bye-bye.
11:55And he's only a few kilometres from finishing his day.
12:02When a speeding car stops him in his tracks.
12:05Oh, out over the centre line.
12:08He's looking at us.
12:11Stopping.
12:12What's this?
12:14This could be interesting.
12:17Hey, you going?
12:18Hey, mate.
12:19Sorry.
12:19I was just getting my passport.
12:20Right.
12:21Where are you off to?
12:22I'm off to Queenstown.
12:23How much have you had to drink?
12:25I haven't had anything to drink yet.
12:26You haven't had anything to drink?
12:27No.
12:27The reason I stopped you, you're going too fast.
12:30Yeah, no.
12:30It's on my phone.
12:32You were on your phone?
12:33No.
12:35Owning up to being on your phone is a bit like saying,
12:38here, take $150, please.
12:41Using it as an excuse for speeding?
12:43Perhaps he's just relentlessly honest.
12:46It may be the car, but it may be you.
12:50All I can smell coming out of there is alcohol.
12:53Oh, I love this.
12:54Right.
12:55Well, actually, I'll get you a step out of the car.
12:57We'll just do a breath test, make sure you're good to go.
12:59There may be another reason for this driver's unexpected choices today.
13:04Just get you to say one, two, three, four, five.
13:06One, two, three, four, five.
13:07Cool.
13:08Right.
13:08So it's still coming up with alcohol on your breath.
13:12So when's the last time you had a drink?
13:14Probably about 11am.
13:1711am?
13:17Yeah.
13:18Crazy.
13:19I thought it was 7am.
13:21I went to sleep.
13:22Woke up.
13:24My ride had already gone.
13:25I was like, oh, shit.
13:26Mean.
13:27Woke up at 4pm.
13:29And then it turns out it was actually 11am.
13:31I went to sleep.
13:32So, wow.
13:33So I now require you to undergo with that delayed breath screening test,
13:36so we'll make sure that you're okay to drive.
13:39Big deep breath and continuous blow.
13:42Blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow.
13:44Yep.
13:57It's 8pm and Senior Constable Graham Butter has stopped a young man for speeding.
14:02No, it's all right.
14:03I was on my phone.
14:04That's why.
14:05You're on your phone.
14:06Yeah, I know.
14:07I thought...
14:07But has discovered a road trip following a big night out that has trickled into the day.
14:14It's given a positive result of over 400.
14:16You're still pissed.
14:18You're now required to accompany me to the Cromwell Police Station and other such place to undergo
14:23an evidential breath test, blood test or both.
14:25So we're going to lock your car up.
14:28I'll move it off the road because you can't drive at the moment.
14:32Incredibly, it is close to a three hour drive to hear from his student flat in Dunedin.
14:38That was a very big night.
14:40Doing it drunk, on your phone, in the dark is right up there in the ranks of bad decisions.
14:47All right, we'll just clean out space for you in the back here.
14:53The young driver chants away about his big night, which has led him to this point.
14:59We finished work at about 1am.
15:01Pretty much got a kick on.
15:03There was about 20 of us.
15:05It turned into four of us with two bottles of vodka between us.
15:10Only two of us were drinking.
15:12And then apparently we fell asleep at 11am.
15:23He's slowly removing any glimmer of hope Graham has that this lad will be driving anywhere for at least 28
15:29days.
15:31But the evidential breath test will reveal more.
15:35So you've never done this before?
15:37Nah.
15:38Good man.
15:39Yeah, come through this way.
15:41And they ask again, do you wish to speak to Laura at this stage?
15:47So now required to undergo without delaying an evidential breath screening test.
15:50So you've caused a big deep breath, continuous blow through there just like you're blowing up a plane.
15:54So, go for it.
15:56So keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep
16:02blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing, keep blowing.
16:06So the lighter you blow, the longer it takes.
16:09No, there's no way to cheat. I'm just very nervous.
16:21Jeepers, George.
16:22Dude, you've just blown 716.
16:25Oh, my God.
16:29I would suggest you've had, like, no food, just...
16:32Oh, no, there was no food. It was just...
16:34Yeah.
16:38I wouldn't think it'd be any place in that, no.
16:42The legal limit of breath alcohol in New Zealand
16:45is 250 micrograms per litre of breath.
16:48He is nearly three times that.
16:50You get a mandatory suspension of your driver's license, 28 days.
16:53Someone's to appear in court, and then let's get you sorted.
16:58That's not overly uncommon.
17:02No food, nothing. Just been on the turps for a long period of time.
17:06So he's just considering those options at the moment.
17:10He needs to decide whether to do a blood test,
17:13who to ring for advice,
17:14and how he's going to get anywhere from here.
17:17Ringing Dad is a good choice.
17:20The big plan is we need to get him out of Cromwell
17:23and to try and get him safely back to Queenstown.
17:26But I think we'll get him back to BP service station.
17:28He can get some food and stuff, and he can wait.
17:31It's nice and warm in there.
17:32And they're open till, I think, 11 o'clock.
17:35Give time to book a taxi and get the taxi to come over and pick him up.
17:38We'll keep the keys here.
17:39We'll just pack it out the front of the police station.
17:42But yeah, okay. Thanks. Bye.
17:45When it comes to life lessons,
17:47this young driver has learnt the biggest ones.
17:50Think before you act.
17:52I had no idea.
17:54I had completely no idea.
17:56I was just more in a worry of getting to Queenstown
17:59because I knew the boys would roast me
18:01if I didn't make it to the boys' birthday trip, but yeah.
18:05That actions have consequences.
18:08Taxi.
18:10Yeah, expensive taxi.
18:13Yeah, speeding, phone, drinking,
18:15and only the main thing is at the end of the day
18:17he gets to spend another Christmas
18:19and some more birthdays with his family,
18:21and that's what it's all about.
18:23So I just made a bad choice.
18:25And that it costs more to get a taxi from Cromwell to Queenstown
18:28than it does to fly to Australia.
18:37The night is dark and ominous.
18:40Fog rolls in from the sea and rises in the river valleys.
18:44The misty rain is slick on windscreens and roads.
18:48Constable Owen Davies is keenly aware of the danger
18:52on the rain-damaged highway along the Bay of Plenty coastline.
18:58Wow, 144. That is crazy in these conditions.
19:02This driver may have just avoided disaster.
19:08Hello.
19:10The reason to stop is your speed.
19:12144.
19:13But has no clue.
19:16Ocean.
19:17Nope.
19:17Ocean.
19:18Come and have a look if you like.
19:20Have you got your licence on you?
19:22Yup.
19:23Is it your car?
19:24Yup.
19:26Why are you going so fast?
19:28I'm not slow for this car, mate.
19:30That's not your driver's license if you're trying to bribe me or something.
19:33I'll be honest, I just got my licence back.
19:37So where are you going to?
19:39Just to my missus' house, Ben.
19:40Where's that?
19:41Down.
19:42OK.
19:44Have you been drinking?
19:45I'll say, Bruce.
19:47Check if you want, Ben.
19:48I will do, yeah.
19:49So that's good news.
19:50No alcohol.
19:52But bad news...
19:54Ticket will be in the post, but I, because you're more than 41k over the speed limit,
20:00you're going to get an instant licence suspension.
20:03Yeah, it is what it is, Ben.
20:05No point in being a prick about it.
20:07Alright, I'll just do paperwork.
20:09Time for some sweet chats while we wait.
20:12I've been around, left school at 15, to be a hard-working man.
20:18Was a builder and, nah, I've just been farming for the summer, so I've actually come from Gisborne today.
20:22He's like, I've just suspended for 28 days.
20:25He's already on 85 demerits.
20:27He'll be getting another 50 demerits tonight.
20:30That takes two months to go on to his driving licence.
20:33So probably February, March, he'll be wanted for demerits again and he'll get another three months suspension.
20:39Low profile tyres as well, aren't you?
20:42Yeah, 285s on the rear, 245s on the front.
20:44I know, but I meant when you hit the pothole that is halfway to Antarctica, it shreds your tyre.
20:52Yeah.
20:53But if you hit it at that speed and then blow a tyre out.
20:56This driver's destination is his girlfriend's in Tauranga.
21:00He's going to need that girlfriend from Tauranga to transport him for the next four weeks as he's receiving a
21:06licence suspension.
21:07So he's literally only just come back from losing his licence and has been caught within four months driving so
21:14fast that he's going to lose his licence for 28 days.
21:18I don't think he's going to learn from this and I expect that we'll see him again.
21:23The driver of the blue Toyota received an infringement notice for speed too great to stop in length of lane
21:30visible, a $150 fine and 20 demerit points.
21:35The young driver received fines totalling $670 for speeding and drink driving with a six month loss of licence.
21:44He also got a warning for using his mobile phone.
21:50As well as his suspension, the fast driver was fined $510 and received 50 demerit points.
21:58Nose to tail crashes are avoidable.
22:01The best protection you can have is the space around your car.
22:04Leave at least two seconds between you and the car ahead.
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