A video of a ute overtaking a truck into oncoming traffic on State Highway 29 has already had more than 47,000 views since being posted to social media 12 hours ago.
The video, which has been shared 441 times, shows a silver ute overtaking a truck on double yellow lines and squeezing past two other vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.
A ute driver was captured on dash cam footage overtaking a truck on double yellow lines over the Kaimai Range yesterday. Watch the video below. Photo: Facebook.
Debris can be seen flying behind the ute where it scrapped other vehicles on the road.
'This poor standard of driving will result in a serious injury crash or worse,” says Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Ian Campion.
'I urge drivers to be patient. There are plenty of overtaking opportunities on the Kaimai Range.”
Ian says patience is an important part of the driving psyche.
Police are also investigating a three car crash at the intersection of Cameron Road and 15th Ave.
Ian says no one was injured in the crash and the driver is assisting police with their enquiries.
42 comments
crazy
Posted on 11-08-2016 08:33 | By Captain Sensible
So many deaths on these roads lately and still this happens.
Unsurprising really
Posted on 11-08-2016 08:46 | By Seriously?
This happens EVERY DAY to most trucks all over the country. Imagine the carnage if the passing ute had been clipped by the truck and spun into other traffic - and would the truck driver have been put through the wringer? Absolutely - and it wouldn't have even been his fault. Hopefully the police will follow through and give this passing ute a dangerous driving charge. Time to lead by example.
total idiot
Posted on 11-08-2016 08:57 | By dumbkof2
this driver should be immediately disqualified for life and all his vehicles crushed
Mindeless idiot.
Posted on 11-08-2016 09:19 | By Ben Dover
Having driven in most countries throughout the world I can honestly say that idiots like this confirm my opinion that Kiwi drivers are some the worst in the world!
Hmmmm
Posted on 11-08-2016 09:19 | By How about this view!
Guess what? IT'S A UTE DRIVER AGAIN! check the tray and make sure that his brain is still there. There is something wrong with ute drivers in general and it seems to correlate with horsepower, the higher the horsepower rating goes the more chances they are willing to take and the lower the intelligence of the operator. This can be observed at any roundabout or set of traffic lights in the country.
Brain donor
Posted on 11-08-2016 10:14 | By maildrop
His mince and cheese pie must have been going cold. It's a pity crap driving is not in the Olympics because New Zealand would be a shoe in for Gold, thus upping the weight/size/medal/punch ratio
All these perfect drivers amaze
Posted on 11-08-2016 10:33 | By Murray.Guy
Every time there is an incident, an accident, the appearance of driver or other error, all the expert 'never get it wrong' types come out. This is NOT uncommon and can be an outcome from a number of contributing factors. For example, when at the wheel of a heavy long vehicle I take care to be aware of how many vehicles I have behind me and approaching the Kaimai passing opportunities I indicate early and slow to a speed that allows the cars to pass safely, keeping as far left as possible. I'm aware that often cars cannot see where the passing lane ends. The video shows, for example, that the truck, if aware of the car, could have remained further to the left. We're all guilty, we're all human.
Defies all logic
Posted on 11-08-2016 10:49 | By The Sage
I drove over the Kaimais the day before this. It is like Russian Roulette. I hope this clown gets prosecuted with the full weight of the law as the registration plate must be visible.
Normal day
Posted on 11-08-2016 10:57 | By Kenworthlogger
I have plenty of these idiots on my dash cam. It happens daily. The are literly dying to get past and one day they will get their wish and unfortunatly i will have to deal with the mess. Go kill yourself some other way. Dont involve me......
Murray I don't believe you said that..!
Posted on 11-08-2016 11:29 | By groutby
Several things come to mind..1) The ute driver needed to cross double yellows to overtake (see: "passing" section of roadcode) 2) Couldn't see any proof of the ute indicating intention to overtake 3) Clearly the "slow" lane was coming to an end, where was such a huge truck supposed to go? and 4) you are making excuses for being "human" so inferring that it is acceptable to make mistakes...yes we do, rights and responsibilities Murray; suggest we should keep them to a minimum, and most certainly not with such manouvers as this. The arrogance, impatience and sheer lack of giving a proverbial "rats ass" about anyone else on the road is just stunning!.and agree with dumbkof2. If these are your true thoughts Murray PLEASE save them up for the track....
@Murray.Guy
Posted on 11-08-2016 11:34 | By How about this view!
Good old mayoral candidate twaddle. The responsibility is with the vehicle that is overtaking NOT the heavy transport vehicle that is trying hard to manage his load and control the weight and stability of his/her load. I currently drive heavy vehicles and would NEVER profess to being an expert, but I, like many others, get fed-up with the heavy vehicle having to "manage" other peoples erratic and dangerous activities. I can't understand the attitude of some that think "I have to get past a heavy vehicle or Bus at any cost". It's not about being an expert driver, it's about using the bloody brake pedal occasionally instead of the accelerator.
murray guy
Posted on 11-08-2016 12:28 | By Ben Dover
Perhaps you should retake your driving test!
charge them
Posted on 11-08-2016 12:29 | By Blogger
I seriously hope the police will be charging someone for careless driving. Yes I believe everybody has a brake in their car, and it's not like there isn't another chance to pass later. No wonder the road toll is so high! Just glad it wasn't a death.
Wake up Murray Guy
Posted on 11-08-2016 13:27 | By The Sage
The law is you don't pass on a double yellow line. There is no grey area here. If you look at the video someone was working on a fence on the side of the road. He could have been taken out if the truck moved over. I certainly aren't voting for you Murray, never any question about that.
The slow lane had run out
Posted on 11-08-2016 13:36 | By Angel74
the ute driver either didnt know it didnt continue all the way down or hes just a complete twit that has no consideration for others on the road...and cant wait to die....
wtf
Posted on 11-08-2016 13:42 | By Delboy
as usual somebody wants to die again,they would rather be dead on time than late, i thought Auckland drivers were bad but Tauranga would win a gold medal
murray guy
Posted on 11-08-2016 14:55 | By whatsinaname
DONT BLAME THE TRUCK DRIVER. The ute driver was clearly in the wrong on all counts. Impatient is no one.
leap to conclusions
Posted on 11-08-2016 15:17 | By Petrolhead
While this is undoubtedly bad driving and poor judgment most of you leap to the conclusion it was also deliberate, Murray Guy simply points out it could have been genuine error - something that happens to all of us. Obviously many here know this road, many more do not, so may be surprised at the short length of several of these slow vehicle bays, I also note the other truck and large van could have obscured the view of the lane merge sign. The point is these are all guesses, people are so quick to judge, let the police and law hold the driver to account, not a public kangaroo court of keyboard warriors.
what?
Posted on 11-08-2016 15:30 | By Calm Gully
How can ANYONE justify the ute drivers actions??? He passed on double yellow lines AND obviously did not have 100m visability as required. The Kaimai Range has lots of passing areas and is an adequate road, just drive to the conditions. Double Yellow lines are a condition, not a passing area. Horrible driving from ute and comments from Murray Guy!!!
Dumb and Dumber..
Posted on 11-08-2016 16:25 | By GreertonBoy
No doubt, The overtaking ute driver is a moron... however, I think some amount of blame can go to the other 'innocent' ute that got swiped. It is to the right of the lane, squeezing the moron to 'thread the needle'. The driver of the 'innocent' ute, should have gone to the left of his lane because HE also should have been looking ahead and anticipating other moronic drivers uselessness. If I see a vehicle coming towards me on my side of the road, I would pull to the side, slow or stop... whatever is available and safe... I am not going to move to the right to make sure I get hit just because 'by the law' I have right of way? To me, DRIVERS need to BOTH not cause accidents, but as important actively AVOID them. Lucky this time no one was hurt... its a wonder?
Tajke a deep breath folks ...
Posted on 11-08-2016 16:32 | By Murray.Guy
Crazy conclusions based on a picture. Put the blame game aside, try and keep an open, honest mind. The passing lanes are short in some cases, can't be seen. Most would choose a yellow line if faced with a truck moving closer to them. Yes, the ute driver may have missed judged the available distance, speed and size of the truck? The truck driver may have adopted a 'bugger you mate I'm moving out' attitude (agreed, unlikely), not seen the ute. Every day ALL of us get it wrong, sometimes with tragic outcomes, in part because we are too busy with the game' rather than, how can we learn, improve, our driving and our highways!
Puzzled
Posted on 11-08-2016 16:42 | By Jitter
How do you know the truck being passed is coming to the end of the slow vehicle lane ? If you study the video, the second truck is much further over to the left than the truck being passed by the ute. Perhaps the ute driver was part way past the truck when it started to pull out to the right. Where was the ute supposed to go ? I'd say there is equal fault on both drivers.
@How about this view
Posted on 11-08-2016 17:06 | By laugeo
To quote from your posts "the higher the horsepower rating goes the more chances they are willing to take and the lower the intelligence of the operator" followed by "I currently drive heavy vehicles". So to sum up, you're an idiot in a truck.
Laugeo
Posted on 11-08-2016 17:37 | By maildrop
So funny and well picked up. He's still trying to work it out.
Jitter
Posted on 11-08-2016 18:14 | By Kenworthlogger
You can clearly see the end of the slow lane right in the very first few frames of the footage. How can the truck driver be at fault. If he swerves left or moves over left to the very edge of the road he more than likely will get a trailer wheel off the road resulting in a rolled truck and trailer unit, a ute at fault getting away with it scott free and everybody on this forum saying another big rig crash, what wrong with these truck drivers? The truck driver has done nothing wrong. I dont swerve when idiots are not going to make it past my rig. Thats asking for more trouble. Im not going to roll my heavy unit to possibly kill myself and god knows who else to save an idiots life.
Interesting isn't it?
Posted on 11-08-2016 19:21 | By groutby
...how almost all versions of this one event vary greatly via individual interpretation, and of course we are all correct :)....(I of course still agree with mine), if you are close enough to have your mirrors or remove those of someone else ripped off and are WELL over the centre line, then poor judgement/driving skill or "other" impairment can surely be the reason?..but, we of course will never know the outcome after the Police have been.."assisted" by the driver of the ute...
This
Posted on 11-08-2016 19:23 | By Capt_Kaveman
Proves the police are looking in the wrong area, with more dash cams this will be posted more often
Nothing funny about that
Posted on 11-08-2016 19:29 | By The Sage
Any one of us could have been killed because of the idiotic driving of that Ute driver. Nothing to laugh about then, Not the truck driver who passed on a double yellow line. A very small car was tailgating me over the Kaimais the day before this incident. It passed a car on a double yellow line. I was pleased when it passed me and it tailgated the vehicle in front of me. Nothing is worth that much of a hurry. You end up sitting behind them, up the road at a set of traffic lights. IDIOTS.
Jitter
Posted on 11-08-2016 19:34 | By maildrop
I'm no truck fan but if you study the video, as you suggested, it is clearly at the end of the two lane passing area. Were you driving the ute or was it a fellow blind person? Not the trucks fault in any way. What did you want him to do - drive into the paddock? Anybody backing the ute driver keep out of my way because you are a danger on the roads.
omg ..
Posted on 11-08-2016 20:17 | By Linaire
Words fail me! This is exactly why I avoid travelling over the Kaimais. It's not the truck driver's fault - anyone can see that. I just hope the driver of that ute is never on the road when I am travelling! And Murray Guy, you need your head read!How could that truck go further to the left? Would you prefer that it rolled, causing even more damage?
.
Posted on 11-08-2016 21:56 | By mattbz
I like how Waikato road policing Sergeant Phil Ruddell is blaming the ute overtaking the camera vehicle, not the idiot crossing the double yellows."Certainly there are some clear offences." These include not keeping left of a double passing lane, and possibly dangerous driving, Ruddell said." Source: Stuff article.
Maildrop
Posted on 12-08-2016 08:17 | By Kenworthlogger
Totally agree with you. If the truck got any closer to the edge of the road you can end up getting the trailer off the side and it ends up rolling both truck and trailer. Not worth that.
Kaimais
Posted on 12-08-2016 13:20 | By Vivella
This is one stretch of road I try to avoid at all costs........
Another Look
Posted on 12-08-2016 14:29 | By Jitter
I have had another closer look at the video clip and can now see that the truck is coming to the end of the slow vehicle lane. However he could have still kept further left than he did. At that stage there is still a reasonably wide margin on the left. However the ute driver was obviously in the wrong. It just goes to show what idea first impressions give you.
Ute driver
Posted on 12-08-2016 15:30 | By Kenworthlogger
You gotta ask the question at what stage did the ute driver think maybe i should stop im not gonna make it?
Jeez Louise
Posted on 12-08-2016 16:51 | By OMG
That Silver Ute crossing the yellow lines was clearly in the worst wrong possible, The Truck behind the tanker saw this guy rocketing.. even left him a Gap to swing into, Had the idiot in the Silver Ute realized this he would of just slowed up and swung in behind the tanker, BUT NO chose to GUN it and took out the left hand Utes Driver side Mirror when he did cross the center line, That debris you see flying is definitely The Poor ute Climbing up the hills mirror. Has to be. Let file this under Shameless Patience at Work.
I still say...
Posted on 13-08-2016 02:41 | By GreertonBoy
The person driving the ute going away from the camera would have been as much to blame if that had ended up as a major crash. Look at the silver wagon following it, he is to the left of the lane because he can see the situation unfolding. If you ask me, the moron in the ute crossing the lines was trying to race past the truck before the end of the overtaking lane and was going too fast to pull in behind the truck and the truck moved over so from his own poor driving, he was 'hung out to dry'. But the 'innocent ute' went to the right of his lane to make it hard for the moron. The overtaking ute was pure stupidity.. The 'innocent ute' was just pure evil! We can all make a mistake, no need for an nnocent' party to CREATE an accident
Keep on truckin'...
Posted on 17-08-2016 12:46 | By morepork
I admire truck drivers. They have to cope with this kind of nonsense many times every day. I'm staggered by responses which suggest the truck could have done more... this is just impatience and poor judgement on the part of the ute. AS for you, Murray, yes, we all do make mistakes, but some of us are more prone to "mistakes" than others. NZ drivers are NOT the worst in the World; that award goes to Turkey, in my opinion. (Their Fatalistic Islamic belief that whatever happens is the will of Allah means they just take incredible risks and the roads are strewn with the wreckage of cases where Allah was busy with other matters...). We DO need to improve our general driving and a lot of it is about consideration and patience. Don't have a "personality transplant" when you get behind the wheel.
Right Of Way
Posted on 17-08-2016 12:59 | By morepork
"This is the grave of Eustace Grey. Who died maintaining his right of way. He was in the right, so he carried on. But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong."
NUMBER PLATE VISIBLE
Posted on 28-08-2016 15:01 | By carpedeum
Do so hope the numer plate of this STUPID Ute driver was able to be identified and get the MAXIMUM PROSECUTION .We use the Kaimais often and find the truckdriveers VERY courteous and considerate at all times-use the passing lane and slow vehicle bays whenever possible
drivers unaware
Posted on 30-08-2016 13:08 | By krisby
I have to disagree with "How about this view!", utes, unless V8 Petrols, are not powerful, this nissan, most likely a diesel, is not powerful, not for speed anyway, towing yes.Your view is in total contrast to mine, I have power, so I use it, I get to the speed limit quickly, instead of holding up every Tom, Dick and Harry at every intersection, those people cause the accidents as others attempt to get passed people who think they are being considerate, but are in fact oblivious to the people around them who just want to drive at the speed limit, whether it be residential or rural. In this instance, it was lack of planning and poor judgement by the driver, he should have known beforehand if he could make it or not, if in doubt, its always not.
three types of drivers in the Bay
Posted on 30-08-2016 13:17 | By lpm67
Homicidal, Suicidal or just plain asleep at the wheel, I have driven all around the world and Bay drivers are among the worst.
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