Hitting a cattle beast on a dark morning’s drive to work was a life-changing event for a Southland man.

Two years ago in August, David Harrington was driving to work on the outskirts of Invercargill on SH1. It was dark, wet and visibility was low. He was travelling under the speed limit to compensate for the poor weather conditions.

Nearby a cow was desperately trying to find her new calf. Tragically, David’s vehicle and the cow collided in the middle of SH1. He received horrendous injuries from the crash to his face, jaw and head. In his words, he was very lucky to survive.

On the second anniversary of his crash, Highways South has spoken with David Harrington, the NZ Police, Fire and Emergency NZ and Federated Farmers to understand the impact that wandering stock can have, and to learn what we can do to help prevent future crashes. 

Watch his story here:

Justin Reid, Maintenance Contract Manager for Waka Kotahi in Southland, reminds motorists that animals on highways present a significant safety risk and for all road users to phone 111 if they spot any livestock on roads.  

"As winter ends and spring arrives, we urge farmers to check their fencing on boundary paddocks and ensure this is in good condition and adequate to contain stock," Reid says.

"We remind road users that stock wandering on a state highway is an emergency and to call 111 as soon as they can pull over safely.

"They can also call Waka Kotahi’s Customer Service line 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49) to report this. Doing so could prevent another crash as serious or more serious than David's.”

Highways South is the highway maintenance contractor for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency in Southland.

David's car after the impact