A driver in Christchurch was left shocked after following a van that swayed across the road while carrying an unbalanced trailer-load of wood through busy streets.
A video shows a red van swaying down Brougham St in Addington on Wednesday while carrying wooden planks that unbalance the vehicle.
Brendon Partridge, who captured the footage, says following the van was "actually pretty scary".
"Following this little van with an overloaded single-axle trailer it was clear to see what was going to happen eventually. After seeing him lose control of the vehicle at the Lyttelton St lights I was concerned for other motorists surrounding this vehicle in such a built-up area," he told Newshub.
Partridge, who has worked in the roading industry for over 15 years, says the driver didn't appear to be worried about the safety of other motorists.
"He looked to reduce his speed a little, but in hindsight did not have the correct trailer or vehicle for the weight of the load he wanted to carry.
"What scares me is when the video is slowed down right as the driver was out of control you can see a man walking his dog pushing a pram down the footpath, and that's when you stop and think how serious this could have been if the stars aligned."
Partridge says the driver had three close calls while he was following him over a distance of about three kilometres.
"When he built up speed it was clear he could not control the vehicle because of the load and narrowly avoided crashing into parked cars and built up traffic on Brougham St."
It's easy to laugh about the situation now it's passed, he says, but seeing people overload trailers that aren't fit for purpose is common with the Kiwi 'she'll be right' attitude.
"Drivers need to be educated, and some responsibility should fall on the people loading these trailers to ensure the driver knows his responsibility moving out onto the road and the potential risk they are putting on themselves and other road users."
