Driver forced off road as rental car convoy passes 'like slot cars'
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
A rental van has been caught on camera driving into the path of an oncoming vehicle and forcing it off the road.
The van was part of a convoy of four that were overtaking 'like slot cars' south of Queenstown on Monday.
The convoy was driving between Queenstown and Milford Sound in a 100kmh zone, Sergeant Chris Brooks said.
Queenstown man Robert Howie captured the vans passing his car and a vehicle in front of him on his dash cam, near Garston.
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The last van is seen passing him and driving directly into the path of an oncoming farm vehicle, forcing it off the road.
Howie said the drivers of the four vans undertook several dangerous manoeuvres in the short time he saw them.
'One would overtake then it was like slot cars – they would just all follow.'
He drove the road regularly but tried to avoid it around the Chinese New Year due to the heavy traffic, he said
Brooks said police received a *555 call about the incident but were unable to locate the driver.
However, 30 minutes later another call was made to police by a member of the public about a vehicle in the convoy overtaking on blind corners.
An officer caught up with the group at Five Rivers and issued one driver with an infringement notice for undertaking dangerous passing manoeuvres.
Brooks said it was not the same van that appeared in the video footage but it was part of the same group.
Police were talking to Apollo Car Rentals in an effort to contact the driver in the video footage, he said.
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