A bar crossing safety video produced by the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regional councils have now cracked 200,000 YouTube views.

The clip gives boaties information on how to make safer bar crossings and has been viewed more than 212,000 views on YouTube alone, says WRC maritime services team leader Richard Barnett.

'It's excellent to see how seriously boaties are taking this issue by accessing the bar crossing video on YouTube.

'Bar crossing is one of our most hazardous boating activities so it's essential boaties equip themselves with the knowledge to cross bars safely.”

Richard says bar crossings at Tairua in the Coromandel and Raglan have the highest incident rate in the Waikato, which drove the regional council's desire to get involved in making bar crossing videos, available on YouTube and council websites.

The videos were released in 2014 after the Waikato council teamed up with their counterparts in the Bay of Plenty (which has the Bowentown and Kaituna bars), as well as Coastguard NZ, Maritime NZ and Water Safety NZ.