'Driving like ****': Aggressive motorist almost causes crash, gives bus driver the finger

An angry motorist nearly caused a head-on collision on a Canterbury highway, then pulled the finger at a bus driver who beeped his horn.

Dashcam footage of the aggressive overtaking manoeuvres shows the Isuzu Bighorn passing the bus on State Highway 8 between Twizel and Omarama about 5.45pm on January 6.

The 4x4 driver then tried to overtake the blue hatchback travelling behind a motorhome.

But a gasp of alarm can be heard from inside the bus as the 4x4 driver aborted the overtaking attempt and narrowly avoided a head-on collision with the oncoming vehicle.

Bus driver Ted Park told the NZ Herald the driver of the Isuzu Bighorn "aggressively overtook multiple vehicles from behind".

“The Isuzu entered the oncoming lane and forced an approaching car to brake suddenly and move aside to avoid a head-on collision," Park told the Herald.

"The incident was extremely close and could easily have resulted in a fatal accident.

"I sounded my horn to warn the driver, who then responded with an offensive gesture."

Park told the Herald he was "disappointed" to be given the middle finger.

"He was driving like **** so we can’t expect [a] good personality."

Park shared the video to highlight the dangers of reckless driving.

"This type of driving puts innocent people at serious risk."

A police spokesperson said the incident was reported to its 105 website on Sunday.

"This kind of unsafe driving puts both other motorists and the occupants of the overtaking car themselves at risk of serious injury or worse," the spokesperson said.

"If you are witnessing dangerous driving behaviour, please pull over and call police on 111. You can also report non-emergencies or matters after the fact by calling police on 105.”