A north-west Auckland man says he's sick of seeing dangerous driving all the time after filming a car swerving dangerously across a busy highway in north-west Auckland.
Armand Claassens captured footage of the driver of a white hatchback repeatedly crossing the centre line as they travelled along Old North Rd, between Parakai and Riverhead, on Tuesday morning.
In one particularly terrifying moment, the driver can be seen partially on the wrong side of the 80km/h road as a truck comes the other way - reacting just a second or two before it careened into them.
While the video Claassens captured is less than a minute-long, it shows the car drifting across the centre line numerous times - and he said their dangerous driving extended well beyond what he filmed.
He estimates there were four or five close calls in the 12km stretch of Old North Rd he was following the hatchback for - from the Peak Rd intersection to a turn-off just beyond Kumeū.
"What I saw was either drunk or under the influence," he told Newshub. "It was real dangerous. I'm seeing it all the time and I'm sick of it - that's the reason I filmed it."
Claassens also noted that while the driver is at one point filmed taking the precaution of indicating as they went through a roundabout, they did so incorrectly.
"Going straight through a roundabout you only indicate out, and not right going in."
While he wasn't able to get close enough to the car to see its registration number, Claassen says he still plans to report the incident to police later on Tuesday.
A police spokesperson told Newshub members of the public should always report dangerous driving so they can "make follow-up enquiries and ensure the safety of road users".
"We encourage people to always contact police in the first instance, before posting to social media. Anyone who witnesses dangerous driving is urged to call us on *555, or 105 with the time, location and the vehicle’s registration as soon as it's safe to do so.
"Police will continue to act on information provided to us to help ensure all road users are safe and feel safe."
Claassens had earlier posted to social media in the hopes of finding someone in the area who recognised the car.
"If this is someone you know that traveled Old North Road this morning between 6:30/7 please check on them before they cause an accident as they are in no condition to be driving," he wrote.
Commenters on Claassen's post were less than impressed with the driving.
"Oh my goodness! They must be drunk or something. That was so close with the truck. Hope they made it home," one wrote.
"People's behaviour behind the wheel is what causes crashes. This is an exact example! So glad no one was hurt in anyway. Was definitely scary to watch!" said another.
A third person suspected the truck driver might need to change their underwear after the close shave.
