Residents and councillors have raised concerns over safety near school bus stops after a boy was hit by a car at Waikaraka.

The youth was taken by helicopter to Auckland Hospital in a critical
condition on March 22, after he was hit crossing Whangārei Heads Rd, about 4km from Onerahi.

The Police Serious Crash Unit is finalising a report on the incident.

A nearby resident, whose teenage children also catch the bus, said the bus stop near May Grove Lane was in a dangerous spot, close to a bend, in an area where drivers often speed.

“Even though it’s 70kmh, a lot of people don’t go at that speed limit and it’s very heavy traffic, especially in the mornings and afternoons,” the woman, who did not want to be named, told the Northern Advocate.

She wants to see signs warning drivers that children are crossing, as there is no such signage and the bus stop is not marked.

“High school kids are probably the worst at just not checking and being distracted,” she added.

The Whangārei District Council is considering a review of speed limits and a reduced 50 km/h limit is proposed on Whangārei Heads Rd, where the boy was hit.

The school bus stop is opposite the majority of Waikaraka houses, so pupils have to cross the road.

But issues with bus overcrowding meant students had to catch the bus before it went out to Whangārei Heads and returned, in order to get a seat, so a stop on the other side of the road would not work, the resident said.

James Meffan, group manager school transport at the Ministry of Education, said the ministry provided guidelines for school bus stop locations.

“Any accident on New Zealand’s roads is investigated by the NZ Police. However, when an accident happens at one of our school bus stops, we immediately check to make sure that the bus stop meets Waka Kotahi’s safe siting guidelines.”

The guidelines around the stops include visibility for a set length, depending on the prevailing speed limit. The requirement in a 70 km/h area is 175m of visibility. The Waikaraka stop meets this guideline.

“Depending on the nature of the accident, we may also work with the transport service provider to understand what other contributing factors may have been in play,” Meffan said.

“Our school bus providers are responsible for selecting suitable bus stop locations along each school bus route. Safety is of paramount importance, so we will not allow them to operate a bus stop that cannot be shown to be safe.”

“Each has an important role to play and responsibilities to meet. It is the caregiver’s responsibility to ensure their children get to a bus stop safely and are supervised at the bus stop until the bus arrives, and the same in the evening.”

Whangārei Heads ward councillor Patrick Holmes said consultation on the speed limit review was in the proposal stage and would go back to the council for approval later this month.

People frequently came to him with concerns about Whangārei Heads Rd, he said.

“Whangārei Heads Rd particularly has a number of accident black spots… the safety of the road is a constant issue.”

There was a fatal crash on a road bend, near Wharf Rd, last November, just as the council began considering the speed limit review.

The driver was killed after his vehicle left the road.

“I’m still pressing for a safety barrier on the outside of that bend which will stop people going into the water,” Holmes said.

“We haven’t got that over the line but I’m still hopeful I’ll get it in the next budget. One of the issues is just physically finding a space to put a barrier.”

The stretch of road where that crash occurred has since been resealed. A new speed limit of 60 km/h has been proposed as part of the review.

Joe Carr, Northland Regional councillor and Regional Transport Committee chair, said child safety around school buses was “a real area of concern”.

He suggested school buses should have signage reminding motorists of the 20 km/h speed limit when passing school buses.

Coroner Brandt Shortland recommended making flashing speed limit signs on school buses mandatory after a Kaitaia College student’s death in 2008.

The Ministry of Transport trialled signs in Ashburton, but concluded they would not be effective unless accompanied by an awareness campaign and enforcement.

This was never implemented, despite another fatality near Houhora in 2019, when a 12-year-old girl was hit by a truck. A boy was also badly injured after being hit by a vehicle crossing SH10 at Kareponia, near Awanui, in 2021.

School bus operator Ritchies declined to comment for this story.