Another horror week on the Bay of Plenty’s roads has an officer fearful the region is in danger of reclaiming the mantle of being the most dangerous place to drive in New Zealand.

In the last seven days, emergency services have had to deal with an unusually high number of roading accidents, resulting in one fatality and a number of people taken hospital in a serious condition.

Emergency services at Takitimu Drive after a 31-year-old man was struck by a car. Photo: Cameron Avery.

In addition, it takes the number of deaths on Western Bay roads so far this year to nine.

And that’s a number that “disappoints” Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Ian Campion, who once again is pleading for motorists to exercise some common sense and patience while behind the wheel.

Ian goes as far as saying it was a “black week” that no one should have to experience.

“It’s not just the police, it’s the fire service, the ambulance staff - it’s all of the people that these serious crashes and deaths affects,” says Ian.

“It’s the families and friends. It has a huge impact and it’s horrendous.”

Among the week’s crashes was Ian Robert McKenzie, 75, who was killed after being hit by a car on Old Coach Road when he was moving stock on April 21.

The following day a 29-year-old woman was hit by a van while hitchhiking along Jellico Street in Te Puke. She remains in a critical but stable condition as of today.

A 31-year-old Tauranga man struck by a car on Takitimu Drivewhile he was walking across the expressway near the 15th Avenue overbridge then added to the list. He remains in Waikato Hospital.

Then last night a two car crash on State Highway 33, south of Paengaroa left three people in hospital.

Ian says on top of this during the long weekend emergency services attended 10 crashes - including the SH33 crash – with three of them involving serious injury and two minor injuries.

Bad weather appears to have been a contributing factor for three of the crashes.

“This is hard on the heels of a really bad week last week,” explains Ian. “And to be quite honest, people aren’t taking the care that they need to take on our roads and in our area.”

On Sunday night emergency services were kept busy with two crashes - one in Oropi and another in Gate Pa.

At 5.15pm two vehicles collided at the intersection of Oropi and Cheyne roads after a vehicle turning into Cheyne Road failed to notice an oncoming vehicle.

The elderly driver of the turning vehicle suffered serious back injuries, says Ian.

Then at 8.30pm on the same evening, two vans collided at the intersection of Cameron Road and Sheppard Street, Gate Pa.

Ian says one of the vans pulled out of a motel with the second van losing control and colliding.

“There was a collision between the two which pushed them both into a concrete retaining wall,” he says.

“Whilst the driver of the second van was uninjured, the driver of the other vehicle had serious facial fractures.”

Ian says all these crashes are avoidable as long as motorists pay attention to speed – particularly around failing to give way – as well as distractions and crossing the centre line.

“They are preventable and that’s the disappointing thing about it,” says Ian.

“I just urge people to really start taking care out there - concentrating on what they are doing, keeping their speeds down and making sure the roads are clear before they pull out.”

“To be fair, years ago we were the least safest place to drive in New Zealand and we are starting to get that mantle back.”