SCU: Serious Crash Unit

SCU: Serious Crash Unit is a New Zealand documentary series that aired on TV2. The show was cancelled after seven seasons.

SCU: Serious Crash Unit
Genre	Factual Television Series
Written by	Sharon Bennett, Peter Clews, Jenny Williams, Paul Hagan, Nicola Griffin
Directed by	Sharon Bennett, Peter Clews, Jenny Williams, Paul Hagan, Candace McNabb
Narrated by	Shane Cortese, Craig Hall
Composer	Liquid Studios
Country of origin	New Zealand
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	49
Production
Executive producer	Andrea Lamb
Producers	Peter Clews, Jenny Williams
Production locations	Auckland, New Zealand
Editors	Phil Holt, Jon Kirk
Camera setup	OPC, multi single-camera crews
Running time	22 minutes (approx)
Production company	Greenstone TV Ltd - www.greenstonetv.com
Original release
Network	TV2, TV One (current)
Release	2 April 2004 (2004-04-02) – 26 May 2015 (2015-05-26)
Related
Crash Investigation Unit

Overview

SCU: Serious Crash Unit follows a New Zealand Police-based Auckland Serious Crash Unit as they investigate crashes and examine the evidence found at the crash scene to find out what happened, and what caused the accident.

Episodes

Season 1

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
1	1	"Albany/Novotel"	2003 (2003)
Two vehicles are destroyed in a fatal head-on accident on Albany Bridge.
2	2	"Okura/Stanway"	2003 (2003)
The SCU investigates a crashed four-wheel-drive.
3	3	"Simpson Rd/Southern Motorway"	2003 (2003)
Two West Auckland factory workers get into a crash on Simpson Road in Ranui.
4	4	"Windy/Wellsford"	2003 (2003)
A man loses control of his vehicle on his way to visit his children, and the SCU suspect his brakes may have been at fault.
5	5	"Whangaparaoa/joe Dee"	2003 (2003)
The SCU are called to two crashes on Whangaparaoa Road.
6	6	"Bush/Dome"	2003 (2003)
A young motorcyclist is killed in a collision with a truck.
7	7	"Upper Harbour/titrangi"	2003 (2003)
A bus veers out of control in Titirangi with fatalities.

Season 2

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
8	1	"Wainui Road"	2005 (2005)
The police investigate the death of 27-year old Hamish MacDonald driving home from a night out with friends.
9	2	"Golf Road"	2005 (2005)
The police investigate a fatal crash that kills three people.
10	3	"Lincoln/Newtown Road"	2005 (2005)
The police investigate why a car ploughed through an intersection hitting another vehicle and critically injuring the driver, who is left in critical condition.
11	4	"Kahikatea"	2005 (2005)
The police investigate the death of a young man whose car has come off the road as he was heading home to a family emergency.
12	5	"Oriel/Coatsville"	2005 (2005)
The police investigate a crash where a car left the road and hit a tree.
13	6	TBA	2005 (2005)
...

Season 3

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
14	1	"Te Hana"	2006 (2006)
15	2	"Muriwai/Rua Rd"	2006 (2006)
16	3	TBA	2006 (2006)
17	4	TBA	2006 (2006)
18	5	TBA	2006 (2006)
19	6	TBA	2006 (2006)
20	7	TBA	2006 (2006)

Season 4

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
21	1	TBA	2008 (2008)
22	2	TBA	2008 (2008)
23	3	TBA	2008 (2008)
24	4	TBA	2008 (2008)
25	5	TBA	2008 (2008)
26	6	TBA	2008 (2008)
27	7	TBA	2008 (2008)
28	8	TBA	2008 (2008)

Season 5

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
29	1	"Mangatawhiri"	6 June 2011 (2011-06-06)
The SCU investigate a crash where a truck driver is killed after he swerves to avoid crashing into a line of traffic on a busy state highway.
30	2	"Wellsford"	13 June 2011 (2011-06-13)
Two women are killed and three women are seriously injured after a multivehicle high speed crash south of Wellsford.
31	3	"Pinewoods"	20 June 2011 (2011-06-20)
The SCU investigate a serious crash where a rugby star is killed when he is thrown from a car as it plunges over a 25-metre cliff at a camping ground north of Auckland.
32	4	"Hobsonville"	27 June 2011 (2011-06-27)
The SCU investigate a fatal crash after a motorcyclist, who has just finished building his classic motorbike, is killed when he tries to avoid a car at an intersection.
33	5	"Mill Road"	4 July 2011 (2011-07-04)
The SCU investigate a crash where the mother of three young children is seriously injured when she swerves into the path of an oncoming truck.
34	6	"Wily Road"	11 July 2011 (2011-07-11)
A man is killed when his BMW fails to take a bend, rolling six times down a hill, leaving his partner and young daughter with moderate injuries.
35	7	TBA	2011 (2011)
...

Season 6

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
36	1	"Papakura"	22 January 2013 (2013-01-22)
The SCU investigates a single vehicle crash at a major intersection after reports of road rage earlier in the evening.
37	2	"Lincoln Road"	2012 (2012)
...
38	3	"Kingseat"	19 February 2013 (2013-02-19)
The SCU investigate a fatality at an intersection that has been the site of many crashes.
39	4	"Kaiaua"	2012 (2012)
...
40	5	TBA	2012 (2012)
...
41	6	TBA	2012 (2012)
...
42	7	TBA	2012 (2012)
...

Season 7

Number in series	Number in season	Title	Original air date
43	1	"Kingseat"	29 July 2014 (2014-07-29)
The SCU investigate a double fatality at an intersection.
44	2	"Port Waikato"	4 August 2014 (2014-08-04)
The SCU investigate a crash where an Australian tourist is killed while on a quad bike tour.
45	3	"Birdwood"	12 August 2014 (2014-08-12)
The SCU investigate a fatal crash after a motorcyclist is killed.
46	4	"Maramarua"	19 August 2014 (2014-08-19)
The SCU investigate a crash where an elderly woman is killed on a highway after colliding with a truck kilometres from home.
47	5	TBA	2014 (2014)
Two young women are killed and three are seriously injured after a multi-vehicle high speed crash south of Wellsford.
48	6	TBA	2014 (2014)
...
49	7	TBA	2014 (2014)
...

Broadcasting

The following list is ordered by the date of the series premiere.

Country	TV Network(s)	Series Premiere	Weekly Schedule	Status
New Zealand	TV2		N/A	All episodes aired
Australia	Channel Seven	17 March 2008	Monday 8:00pm	All episodes aired

Ratings

Australia

In Australia, SCU: Serious Crash Unit was watched by 1.4 million viewers in its premiere episode, and received similar ratings in its second week.^[1] In its premiere week in Australia, SCU: Serious Crash Unit was the third most watched program in the five mainland state capitals.^[2]

The second series premiered Monday 8:00pm at 1.2 million viewers,^[3] and ratings remained between 1.2 and 1.7 million viewers, following a strong lead in from Border Security: Australia's Front Line.