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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.
00:19It 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 lost his hat.
00:28She is wild.
00:30And rewards.
00:31I like the police here.
00:32They smile.
00:33Come to New Zealand.
00:34Stay famous.
00:35Stay safe on the road.
00:37This is Highway Cops.
00:39Tonight.
00:42Whoa.
00:43That's not normal.
00:45Loss of traction proves to be a slippery slope.
00:48I was just going so little bit of a ride.
00:50You can tell I'm from Hamilton, eh?
00:51Crash after crash after crash.
00:54I guess I did.
00:55I don't really remember.
00:57And pest control on the roads in Te Waiponamu.
01:00So we'd hit a possum.
01:02Oh, so we slowed down and then we hit a deer.
01:04You hit a deer?
01:18Cutting straight across the farms of the Canterbury Plains, State Highway 1 between Te Maru and Christchurch is famously the
01:26most boring stretch of road in the country.
01:29But Senior Constable Ben Grant finds things here anything but boring.
01:34So we've got a clear South Canterbury day which we get plenty of.
01:38The most liveable city in New Zealand now, apparently.
01:42We get a lot of sunlight hours.
01:44In theory that should mean that everyone is able to behave really well on the roads.
01:48Yeah, it should be a straight forward Friday, you would think.
01:52Where else would you spend the morning, one, changing a tyre on a van.
01:57We're going to get high enough.
01:59Two, hunting for a GPS and long grass with some friendly motorcyclists.
02:03It's a bit like finding a golf ball when I play golf.
02:07Needle in a haystack.
02:09And now, a very odd priority traffic complaint.
02:13Look, they're going to pour up the influencing.
02:17Their arms are through the back window.
02:20They believe there might be a passenger in the boot.
02:23We should come across it in the next five minutes with a little bit of luck.
02:26See what speed it's doing and then whip around and stop and have a talk to it.
02:29Sure enough, Ben spots the car at the back of a line of traffic.
02:33Coming out of Heinz.
02:35I've just got it northbound out of Heinz, just trying to catch up.
02:39Does this mean the driver will have good Heinz sight?
02:44Hey, the reason I stopped you, there was a traffic complaint, a priority complaint made about your driving.
02:48Just excessive speed and they actually thought someone might have been in the boot.
02:52They saw some hands or something, they're in the boot.
02:54There is.
02:55He seems to realise the game is up.
02:58Yeah, old mate's in the back all curled up.
03:01The genie is out of the bottle.
03:04It's no joke.
03:05We had a fatal in South Canterbury a couple of years ago involving people in the boot of a car.
03:11If something goes wrong, it ends up really wrong.
03:13So we're going to have to deal with him and the driver because the driver knows damn well he's there.
03:17Then we're going to have to work out what he's going to do because he hasn't got a way of
03:19going anywhere from here.
03:20At least Logan's not driving because Logan's disqualified.
03:23So at least it's not that way around.
03:27Yeah, there is one rooster in the boot currently dealing with him.
03:30They weren't speeding.
03:31A couple of little issues to work through.
03:33I'll get you posted, but it all is good.
03:34The rooster from the boot has nothing to crow about.
03:37It wasn't too bad.
03:38It was quite comfy.
03:39Almost fell asleep.
03:42Nice and smooth ride.
03:44It wasn't too bad.
03:45Who's going to be the one going back to Heinz to wait for a lift?
03:48I can probably get someone to come to Winslow.
03:50I hate his guts.
03:52Hang on, I've got a sample.
03:54Hello, how you doing?
03:57So the one thing I don't want is I don't want you to be a risk to people driving past.
04:02I also don't want anyone to start walking up the highway.
04:04Ben's not letting anyone leave here unless it's safe.
04:09So what about this friend you don't like?
04:10Do you reckon you could just agree to get over that just so you can get your ass burden or
04:14something?
04:15Hey mate, how you doing?
04:17How are you working at the moment?
04:19I was loaning the boot of a mate's car to get up to Christchurch and we got pulled over by
04:23a cop just after the Heinz bridge.
04:26And I need to find a right to get the ass.
04:28So who is taking that third seat in the back?
04:34A baby.
04:35Just trying to ensure it's seated correctly, seeing there were some other seating issues.
04:40The next question then is why so many people had to be in this car for this trip?
04:44Had to get him to an appointment and him to a new car.
04:47Right way up to Christchurch to get my new car.
04:50Oh, I'm just coming with mate to get his new car.
04:53I've got a couple of mates I've got to go see in Christchurch.
04:55Nothing that was worth risking everyone's lives for then.
04:59I'm going to take him back to Heinz.
05:01At least there's a toilet that he can sit down, play on the playground, whatever he wants to do.
05:06I'll play on the playground.
05:08And then he can either get picked up by mate or picked up by someone else, but he's not to
05:11go back in the boot of that.
05:13Yeah, getting a ticket for something like that is much better than us pulling you out in six parts, you
05:17know.
05:17The boot rider gets a fine for his unsafe position and the driver gets one for allowing it to happen.
05:26What is it?
05:45What else is on his bucket list? If it was a fine, then he's ticked it off already.
05:51So the 20 demerits and a 100 for fuel ticket each.
05:54The driver is on 95 demerit points already, which means he'll be losing his licence for three months once the
06:00tickets are processed.
06:01The solution that we're working with is I'm taking the passenger back to Heinz, about a k or two to
06:06the south.
06:06He can wait there, there's a toilet, a rest area and whatever.
06:10A mate's going to pick him up and the rest of the crew are heading back north to Christchurch where
06:14they were intending to going.
06:15Yep, I think everyone's happy, happy enough. Everyone's safe and well, that's the main thing.
06:21Make sure you don't ride in the boot again, man. Good boy.
06:31Meandering through native bush and farmland is the highway south from Nelson to the alpine lake of Rotuiti.
06:39Senior Constable Alf Blair is doing anything but meandering along it.
06:43It appears a car's come off the road and a person is trapped and it's down by St Arnard.
06:50Very sketchy about what's happened at the moment but we'll go down and see what's going on.
06:55And Alf is close to getting there.
06:59Hello. This has just happened too.
07:02I've just come across another 1V van off the road on Kariri Top House Road.
07:06Bit of moments and attention, who was driving?
07:09It was at 2 o'clock yesterday morning.
07:112 o'clock this morning.
07:13Okay, and you've just come back to recover it?
07:15Yes.
07:15Alright, so I can stand my colleague down? There's no issue?
07:19No.
07:19No.
07:23It's not often Alf has to stop for a crash on the way to a crash.
07:32Another crash down the Wairau.
07:34Three crashes in one day already.
07:37Luckily another officer is dealing with the Wairau crash.
07:40Alf has enough on his plate.
07:42You just don't know what your day's going to bring, that's for sure.
07:51Oh, look at that. Right there.
07:53Even though the fire service and tow truck are in attendance, Alf needs to document the scene and talk to
07:58the driver.
08:00Howdy.
08:01So that's the lady up there.
08:02Yeah. She's the driver?
08:04She's the driver, yeah.
08:05She's the only person in the car.
08:07Yeah.
08:07She's okay, she's got some bruises from a previous accident a week ago.
08:10Okay.
08:12The holiday season can be very disorientating.
08:15And you've been checked out by the medical?
08:18And you're all good?
08:19Cool.
08:20Can you tell me what happened?
08:21So I was turning right, about to turn right and then my sat-nav told me to go straight.
08:27Yes.
08:27So I indicated, I guess I did.
08:30I don't really remember how I ended up in the drain.
08:35The sat-nav swerve is not a common cause of crashes.
08:39And this just gives us an indication that you pass.
08:43Big word, pass.
08:45There's no alcohol involved, but...
08:48I've just been told there's a truck broken down right on the corner on the double yellow line about a
08:53kilometre down the road.
08:54Okay, yeah.
08:55And now Alf has to get moving before the broken down truck causes crash number four.
09:08On the winding Alpine highway between Nelson and Lake Rotuiti, Senior Constable Alf Blair has already been to two crash
09:16scenes before breakfast.
09:17It's not affecting anyone. My colleague will catch up with them and just decide how to deal with it.
09:24And he's just got a call to a third incident that may cause the fourth crash in the area today.
09:29The comms on 10-2, also on state 63.
09:35A vehicle broken down in an awkward location.
09:38I'm just going down to have a look at that.
09:41This breakdown has not caused a crash yet, but on a blind corner in an 80k area, the fire volunteers
09:48are putting themselves at risk slowing traffic.
09:51Alright, now I'm going to stop here.
09:53I'll go back up high on the hill so that we can give cover to this lady who's saying slow
09:59down.
10:01The lights of the police car are a much safer way to slow traffic.
10:07But both directions are blind, so Alf needs help.
10:10Could you come down to my location? I need front and back cover for this broken down truck.
10:15Just hazards up and lights flashing to slow all the traffic down.
10:19But this is a bit bigger than one broken down truck.
10:24I'm hoping there's a truck driver trying to help another truck driver as opposed to two broken down trucks.
10:29There are trucks and people everywhere.
10:32And all hidden by corners and forest.
10:36Oh, there's three trucks.
10:38And this will be a case of truck drivers helping truck drivers which they are very good at doing.
10:43Gentlemen, how are you?
10:45We're thinking of that one or that one which is gone which locks up that back cover.
10:51Okay.
10:51So you're going to be here for a while aren't you?
10:53Could be.
10:54Could be.
10:54Yeah.
10:56So I'll try, if we can get going, I'll get up out of the way.
10:59Yeah.
11:00He's currently locked in position.
11:04He's expecting a replacement part or the breakdown crew to come out of Blenheim to assist
11:09and that's going to be a couple of hours away.
11:11So, for the next two hours, traffic control will be all down to Alf and the other police officer.
11:18And it's critical work on a day that needs no more crashes.
11:23With a speed limit of 80 kilometres an hour, wet roads and people working on the road,
11:29Alf sets his radar on the oncoming traffic.
11:33Whoa.
11:3598.
11:37You.
11:38Here.
11:39Just want you to park off the road.
11:42Sir, you are doing 98 kilometres an hour in an 80 zone.
11:46So where are you from?
11:47US?
11:48US.
11:49An instant fine of $120 will remind the tourists to keep an eye on speed limits and road conditions.
11:56Don't speed.
11:58The mechanic has arrived.
12:00But it was the flashing lights and good communication between the police officers that have kept everyone
12:06safe for the past two hours.
12:08With the truck finally moving out of the forest and no more crashes to add to the tally, traffic
12:14can flow freely again.
12:16Yeah, we always get the vehicle out of the way in the end and people come and help to sort
12:22it all out.
12:30It's the height of summer in central Otago.
12:33People are on their way home from work thinking about dinner.
12:37Reminds Constable Kieran Reeve of the old saying,
12:40sun's out, bun's out.
12:42Ready for barbecue o'clock.
12:45Burger buns will have to wait though,
12:47because Kieran has seen a man in a van with something else out.
12:51Yeah, bud.
12:51Yeah, he's put his seatbelt on now.
12:54Put a yarn to him and see what his reasoning is for that.
12:59Any reason why you didn't have your seatbelt on before?
13:01Yeah, I just left gym and I just got to a river after a while.
13:05Okay.
13:05Big day.
13:06Yeah? What have you been up to?
13:07Oh, just walking.
13:09Stop moving.
13:10Okay.
13:10Just went to the gym to pump some sugar and...
13:12After you've been working all day, you went to go pump some iron?
13:16Yeah.
13:18This one is not going to get fined, is it?
13:20Yeah, boys!
13:22Failing to restrain biceps with a seatbelt is a $150 fine.
13:26This sun's out, guns out traveller is unconcerned and just wants to chat.
13:32I'm a bit Colombian, yeah, yeah.
13:34I'm Italian, a bit Italian.
13:36Mama is Colombiana, Papa, Daddy is Italian.
13:39Yeah, just make sure you've got your seatbelt on.
13:40Yeah.
13:41Alrighty?
13:42Thank you for that.
13:43Sorry, like, big day, big day.
13:44Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:46Alright, sweet days.
13:47Thanks for that and you guys have a good day, yeah?
13:49Next time you come to the gym as well.
13:51Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:52Big arms, bro.
13:53Yeah, yeah.
13:54We do arm wrestling, you know?
13:55Like, yeah, yeah.
13:56We have a national competition.
13:58Oh, real?
13:58Yeah, yeah.
13:59Oh, good luck with that.
14:00You should come check it out.
14:01That's why, you know, I need to train or put a seatbelt like that.
14:07Good on you, bud.
14:08Alright, see ya.
14:10Hopefully, the prize money for arm wrestling is at least $150 to pay for his fine.
14:17Alright, see ya, boys.
14:18He did have big biceps, but unfortunately I could still see that he had no seatbelt around
14:24them.
14:25So, yeah, no, he's still going to cop the ticket for that one and good luck to him.
14:34The city of Hamilton is surrounded by dairy country and has long been the butt of jokes, called
14:43Cowtown and the Tron.
14:45However, the locals prefer City of the Future.
14:50But on a drizzly Friday evening, Senior Constable Warren Watts is going with loss of Traction Town.
14:59Whoa, that's not normal.
15:04G'day, what happened there, buddy?
15:06I don't know.
15:07Just slipped.
15:08Did you put on too much power or something like that when you're going around?
15:11Oh, okay.
15:12Count to ten, please.
15:15He's not been drinking.
15:17Sweet.
15:18Hey, look, I'm just going to check your tyres, all that sort of stuff, eh?
15:20Because worn tyres on wet roads grip like a hockey puck on ice.
15:24Ones on your left-hand side are probably a little bit down.
15:27Yeah.
15:28You know, you might have to replace them fairly soon.
15:30Just seems weird that you've gone and spun out there.
15:33Yeah.
15:33Yeah, I don't know.
15:34I was just trying to do the turn and then just start to feel the back slip out and then,
15:40yeah, just turn around.
15:42Less speed and more gentle braking from now on.
15:45Yeah, just be careful, eh?
15:47Yeah.
15:47Yeah, we'll do.
15:47Alright, no worries.
15:48Take care, man.
15:48Alright, see ya.
15:50But just around the corner, someone else is having issues with their accelerator foot.
15:58I heard that.
16:00I saw that and I smelt that.
16:11It's a slippery night in Hamilton for Senior Constable Warren Watts.
16:16Whoa!
16:17That's not normal.
16:18I heard that.
16:20I saw that and I smelt that.
16:22But a cloud of burning rubber means this driver knew exactly what he was doing.
16:28Hey, mate, what's the car?
16:30You know why we stopped you?
16:32Uh, why was it good?
16:34We were behind you.
16:36Where somebody left some rubber behind, didn't they?
16:43Yeah.
16:44Yeah!
16:46That's right.
16:47This is that moment then, when the rubber hits the road.
16:51Why?
16:52I was just going for a bit of a door ride.
16:55I was having a bit of fun.
16:59I'm not going to deny anything.
17:01Mm-hmm.
17:02Better give me the keys, buddy.
17:04And no keys now, either.
17:05Just a quick breath alcohol test.
17:09Sweet.
17:10Okay, cool.
17:11Honestly, I've always been pretty sensible.
17:14I've just met some guy over there at the fuel station.
17:16He's got a pretty nice car, actually.
17:19And I was just showing off.
17:22So...
17:23Anything else you'd like to show off while we're here?
17:27You can tell I'm from Hamilton, eh?
17:28Yeah.
17:29Hamilton, the home of the magnificent mullet, where it's business in the front and party in
17:34the back.
17:35No business at all right now.
17:37Do you want to speak to a lawyer at all?
17:39No.
17:40Okay.
17:41So, do you understand why you were stopped?
17:43Yes.
17:44Because I got too keen and I spun my ties.
17:50So what I have to do is summon you to court, okay?
17:53Because...
17:54What does that mean exactly?
17:55I have to go into court.
17:56Yeah, yeah.
17:57Got to.
17:57Yeah.
17:58Okay.
17:58You ever been in before?
18:00Do the courts in Hamilton respect a good mullet, though?
18:03Ooh.
18:05Can I?
18:06Yeah, they might prosecute me if I roll up into the old court system.
18:11Hey.
18:12Waiting for the tow truck means the now suspended driver can explain some of the stickers on his
18:18pride and joy.
18:19Keep your opinion to yourself.
18:21I like my car.
18:22It makes me happy.
18:25This one's probably more fitting over here.
18:28Better days are coming.
18:30Yes, but not for at least 28.
18:33So, I mean, anything to do with the boy race and stuff.
18:35Sustainable traction and anything like that is six master's qualification.
18:39However, you can get work licenses.
18:43Depends on the judge what the judge says.
18:45But Warren has some great tips for this car enthusiast once he is allowed to drive it
18:50again.
18:50Hampton Downs just up the road.
18:52Fantastic.
18:53Taupo not too far away.
18:54Yeah.
18:55Go there.
18:56Yeah, go there.
18:57Go there.
18:57I'm in a car club and they tend to go to a lot of track days.
19:01Yes.
19:01And I'd love to whip around with them.
19:03Yep.
19:03Show them what this can do, you know.
19:05And I'd love to see as well what this can do in a straight line.
19:09Yep.
19:09I can assure you that a car that's not necessarily as powerful as the other cars can be actually
19:14just as much fun because you're actually driving it.
19:17Yeah.
19:18On the track it's a lot.
19:19You're actually driving it to what its potential is.
19:21Yeah.
19:22The tow truck has arrived and so has the lads long locked flatmate to give them a ride
19:27home.
19:28I will say one thing though.
19:30It's a good way to start the new year.
19:32Start from the bottom and it can only get better from here on.
19:36Hamilton, the city of the future.
19:38A future without this car doing any burnouts on the road.
19:42Think twice.
19:44So a car was impounded for 28 days for sustained loss of traction.
19:48Seemed like a good young character I hope he uses the car for track days as opposed to
19:54burnouts on the road.
20:02The tiny Otago town of Ofa is officially the coldest in New Zealand.
20:06But today Cromwell is giving them a run for their money.
20:10Yeah, a lot of snow.
20:12It is cold.
20:15Senior Constable Graham Butter is making sure everyone is safe and warm.
20:20All the best.
20:21Please slow down.
20:21Take it easy.
20:22Welcome to Cromwell.
20:23I'm probably not the one you wanted to meet.
20:25With a smile on his face.
20:27Buckle up Buttercup.
20:29Let's see what we can find.
20:31Buttercup is secured.
20:32And what has he found?
20:34Someone's had a bit of a fender bender and taken me down a lot but it did look like reasonably
20:40recent so we'll just go and see if the, make sure the rest of the car is fine.
20:46Seems the crash has left the indicators worse for wear as well.
20:50How are ya?
20:52Good.
20:53What's happened to your wee car?
20:55We hit a deer.
20:57You hit a deer?
20:58Yeah, on the west coast and a deer jumped in front of our car to drive up.
21:02Oh wow.
21:03So, was this a stag in the dark?
21:05It was really late and we were both so frightened that we didn't really stop but Sophia reckons
21:10she saw the deer kind of get up.
21:12Yeah, kind of got up.
21:13But I don't know if it lived for long after that.
21:16It was in rough shape and the front of my car was covered in blood and fur.
21:19Yeah but we were only going about 70 at the time because we'd just hit a possum.
21:23There were so many possums.
21:25There were so many possums.
21:26So we'd hit a possum and we were oh, so we slowed down and then we hit a deer and
21:30then
21:30it was just, it was almost comical.
21:32It was really bad.
21:33They have managed the impossible, taking out two pests in one night.
21:38Oh my God, I'm never driving at night again.
21:42Be aware that you've got no lights on that side so for a lot of people they'll think
21:47it could be a motorcycle coming towards them, especially in the build up areas.
21:50You watch pedestrians that may step out in front of you so the poor wee car might be
21:54dead.
21:54It's done well.
21:56Old Caroline.
21:58That's quite the tally for one night's driving then.
22:02One Caroline, one Jack and one deer.
22:04Part of driving in the rural areas is you've got to be aware that wild animals can run out
22:13in front of you so drive accordingly.
22:15Pest free New Zealand within 2050 or whatever.
22:20So they're doing their part.
22:22The man with the mullet was charged with sustained loss of traction and was sentenced to
22:27six months disqualification and a $300 fine.
22:30The driver of the car with the boot rider lost his license for three months for excess
22:35demerits.
22:36They both got a $150 fine.
22:40Eighty-three percent of fatal crashes involve young drivers.
22:45Drive seriously, responsibly and get home safe.
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