And Lindsay Morton’s return to driving was also approached with caution, by starting the ignition and reversing in the secure confines of the family property.
Morton’s right ankle – and confidence – needed rebuilding after he was involved in a fatal crash involving sunstrike at the intersection of Selwyn and Springston Rolleston Rds.
The 64-year-old from Lincoln underwent painstaking rehabilitation only to be made redundant a week after returning to work.
He is still scarred by another driver’s lapse of concentration while the sun was rising over Canterbury on July 14, 2020.
Douglas Benecke, a 57-year-old computer engineer from Rolleston, died at the scene of the crash after he drove his Volkswagen Cross Polo through the stop sign-controlled intersection into the path of a silver Audi driven by Morton.
The sun was rising directly along the line of Selwyn Rd at the time of the crash.
Sunstrike is a concerning road safety issue in the region. Between 2017 and 2021, there were 149 crashes in Canterbury where “dazzling sun” was cited as a factor by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency – the fourth highest rate in the country behind Auckland, Waikato and Wellington.
That figure included three fatal crashes and 22 involving serious injuries.
The majority of ‘dazzling sun’ crashes (131) between 2017-2021 occurred from 8am to noon in June; followed by the same time slot in July (86) and August (60).
It took 11 months for Morton, who travelled the same route from Lincoln to work at a transport logistics company in Rolleston for three-and-a-half years, to get back behind the wheel after the collision.
“I had a wee try in our drive because of the swelling and nerves in my foot. I wasn’t sure if I could drive with the numbness under the base of my foot,” he explained.
“I had some practice in the driveway and then I’d go round the outskirts of Lincoln until I was confident enough to drive on a main road.”
He is still wary at intersections, regardless of the time of day.
“I go through some of them very gingerly now, especially where visibility is poor and you’re totally reliant on the other guy to stop. I’ll always have a raised awareness now,” he said.
Morton still has memories of the crash, though in sepia tones the sun is not prominent.
“I saw some blank road and there was a vehicle right in front of me. These are still shots. They were so vivid. I can still clearly see them, they were all in brown, like the old photos you have,” he said.
“My doctor was saying: ‘That’ll be your brain doing some funny thing to protect itself’.”
Physically, the badly dislocated ankle and compound fracture were Morton’s most severe injuries but the discomfort lingers on.
“I’ll have limited mobility, I’ll never run again. At the moment you consciously have to take every step,” he said, adding it was difficult for his ankle to adjust to uneven surfaces like sand or gravel.
“Now I’ve got to think about every step I take, 250m would be a long walk.”
Morton suffered another setback soon after his graduated return to work programme, devised by the Accident Compensation Corporation, was completed last year.
“They had someone in Auckland doing the job, and they decided to keep the job there. The redundancy blew me away when I was still dealing with everything else,” said Morton, who reaches retirement age in January.
“I was 63 when the accident happened. I thought this last two to half-year run into my retirement, things were looking okay. It’s turned into a bit of a struggle now.
“There’s a lot of ongoing consequences for a moment of indecision, or maybe not driving to the conditions.”
The crash prompted coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale to issue a warning about sunstrike because the sun rises directly along the line of Selwyn Rd at that time of year.
“The resulting glare could adversely affect a driver’s vision when heading east on that road,” she said.
