SH29 Kaimai safety concerns spur push for fixes on major Bay of Plenty highway

“Having cars stopped in overtaking lanes trying to turn right while trucks and cars are racing along in all three lanes at 100km/h is an incredibly unsafe situation,” their joint statement said.

The “dangerous” right turns were discouraging attendance at Kaimai School, and the role was now “under 70 as parents opt for Tauranga schools”.

Their letter said the highway had a “history of crashes involving interactions between high-speed overtaking lanes and vehicles stopping to turn right”.

The number of crashes from Belk Rd to the Kaimai summit between 2015 and 2025. Graph / NZME

Uffindell told Local Democracy Reporting that the pair had spoken to numerous residents who had seen vehicles stopped in passing lanes to turn right.

State Highway 29 carries heavy commuter and freight traffic between Tauranga and the Waikato. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

“On the inside are trucks coming up the Kaimais at 100km/h and cars overtaking them at greater speeds around corners, who then suddenly realise there is a stationary car ahead of them, then have to swerve into the left-hand lane to avoid a collision.”

Uffindell said he had met people who had crashed into a stationary turning vehicle, having been unable to see it in time because another car was passing in front of them.

“At a town hall meeting in 2023 and another in November 2025 we had a large number of rural residents express their horror at being a stationary vehicle in a passing lane looking in the mirror at cars screaming up behind them and swerving late to avoid a collision.

“This is a profoundly unsafe scenario.”

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell and Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford.

Some continuously feared for their children and loved ones doing right-turns from a passing lane daily.

The MPs asked the minister and NZTA to review and implement several safety fixes:

Kaimai School: Remove the overtaking lane outside, introduce an 80km/h zone through the school area, plus variable speed signs. Thorn Rd and Old Kaimai Rd: End the overtaking lane earlier and convert the disestablished section into a right-turn bay.Poripori Rd: Install a right-turn bay and, if necessary, move the road entrance further from the bridge to achieve this.Soldiers Rd: What is regarded as an overly sharp turn into this road is thought to be forcing vehicles to a near-stop on SH29 and a redesign is advocated, to soften the corner.

Their letter stated their concerns were supported by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s three Kaimai ward councillors and the Kaimai Omanawa Rural Ratepayers Association.

Ratepayers association chairman Wayne Lowry raised many of the same points and suggestions at a Bay of Plenty Regional Transport Committee meeting last week.

He said he feared it was only a matter of time before a serious crash.

He described a situation where a woman was driving from Tauranga on SH29 on the Kaimai Range.

Her navigation told her to turn right so she pulled into the right-hand overtaking lane and stopped to give way while cars drove past in both directions at 100km/h.

“She thought she was going to die.”

In regard tohe eastbound overtaking lane that ends soon after the school entrance, Lowry questioned why there would be an area that “encourages traffic to increase speed” outside a school.

Kaimai School is located beside State Highway 29. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

Tauranga Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular said she had owned a property by Kaimai School for 28 years and was on its board about 23 years ago when they asked NZTA asking for better signalling.

“This has been going on for over 20 years … we’ve had so many meetings, and we just really have to advance it.”

The committee unanimously resolved to write to NZTA leaders highlighting the safety concerns on SH29.

What the school says

Kaimai School principal Matthew Jackson said NZTA was in the process of establishing variable speed limits on SH29 outside the school.

“At the beginning of this month, the NZTA project manager confirmed that the installation is expected to take place between March and April this year.”

The variable speed limit of 60km/h would be in place from 8am-9am and 2.20pm-3pm. The school could also activate the signs for up to 10 minutes at a time on especially busy school days, such as sports days.

Kaimai School principal Matthew Jackson. Photo / Supplied

Jackson said the school was confident the new variable signs, with effective enforcement of these limits, would go a long way towards reducing the risk to the students and families of Kaimai School.

“While extra care is required when turning right from the school towards Tauranga, I am not aware of this impacting school attendance or being a factor in where whānau chose to send their children.

“The school would of course welcome any changes that make the area safer for all road users.”

What NZTA says

An NZTA spokesperson said the agency was aware of locals’ safety concerns about safety, particularly at the Kaimai intersections.

The spokesperson said several safety improvements had been made on this route over the past decade and more were coming, including additional line markings and better signage warning of approaching intersections and turning vehicles.

A 60km/h variable speed school zone at Kaimai School was set to be installed before July 1.

Current signage around Kaimai School to reduce speed. Photo / Kelly O’Hara

Turning right from a passing lane: The law

Bay of Plenty Police District road policing manager, Inspector Phil Gillbanks, said road safety regulations require that drivers pull to the left, instead of sitting in the middle of the road.

He noted this would mean the driver would have to drive across three lanes to go right.

“That opens up another safety issue for people trying to turn right.”

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.