Dyers Pass Road

Christchurch has a road going up and over the hills to the South called the Dyers Pass Road.

It is a narrow-ish, winding road.

Narrow-ish in that two large tourist-type busses may need to do a dance to pass on two of the corners but over all there is plenty of room for traffic.

The only real hazard are road-lice and the problems they cause for equally bad road users behind steering wheels.

The road is generally a pleasure to drive and I have driven it probably 200 plus times over the last year, in vehicles of various sizes, most of the time while giving a commentary to the tourists in the vehicle.

I cannot remember a close call, not even an incident, on the road that did not involve a cyclist going down hill at high speed, uncontrolled and unable to keep to his (it's always his) lane.

On Sunday, last, two motorcycles collided on the road and the riders died.

I don't know the details but suspect that they were going the opposite direction from each other and one (at least) did not respect the keep left law on a blind corner. i.e. someone made a mistake and, unfortunately, two paid for that mistake.

The headline in the news the next day went along the lines of "Notorious Dyers Pass Road Claims Two More Victims".

What a load of pure and utter bullshit!

The road has no notoriety, it did not cause the accident nor did it, except in a completely passive way, kill the riders.

I have no doubt that because of the headline the disgraceful traffic mis-management scum contracted to the Christchurch City Council will attempt to "slow the road down".

I admit to never achieving the current speed limit on it but reducing that limit will simply increase frustration of motorists on the hill and those frustrated motorists are almost certain to make mistakes and put more of us innocent road-users in danger.

Far better, in fact, to remove all speed limits on the hill.

The road itself will set it's speed limit and the Darwin Principle will enforce it.