18 December 2007
Waikato Police are asking the public to heed basic road rules following two fatal motorbike crashes on the region's roads yesterday.
In the first incident a 32-year-old woman died on SH27 after riding her three wheel motorbike out of Gillette Lane, Waharoa, into the fifth axle of a 'B-train' truck and trailer unit about 3.30pm.
Waikato Road Policing Manager, Inspector Leo Tooman, said investigations revealed the three-wheeler had no brakes.
Her name has not yet been released.
Less than four hours later emergency services rushed to the scene of a fatal collision between a motorbike and a car on SH2 in the Karangahake Gorge.
"At about 7.10pm a 1200cc Suzuki motorbike travelling towards Waihi, being ridden by a 36-year-old man, has hit the right front of a Mazda car travelling towards Paeroa.
"As a result the rider has died from his injuries, his details have not yet been released."
Mr Tooman said motorcyclists were extremely vulnerable out on the roads and urged riders to use caution.
"With the fine weather there's the inclination to get out there in the sun on your bike but people still need to observe the basics, keep to the left and watch your speed and ensure you wear the proper safety equipment."
"In places like the gorge there's no out if you get something wrong, that stretch of road is not a 100kph road, it's about driving to the conditions which doesn't mean just slowing down in the rain," he said.
These latest deaths follow Saturday's death of a 45-year-old woman injured in a crash on SH27 on 02 December.
Sharon Christine HYMERS was a rear-seat passenger in a BMW sedan that crossed the centreline of SH27, 1km north of the intersection with Kaihere Rd, colliding head on with a Subaru Legacy.
All three fatal crashes are currently being investigated by the Waikato Serious Crash Unit.
Yesterday's fatalities raise the Waikato Police District's road toll to 56.
END