Its dangerous and wasteful to allow even heavier trucks up to 53 tonnes onto NZ roads it has been claimed...

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 It's dangerous and wasteful to allow heavier trucks on New Zealand roads, says the car buyers' Dog & Lemon Guide. Commenting after the government announced that it would allow trucks of up to 53 tonnes on public roads, Dog & Lemon Guide editor Clive Matthew-Wilson said: "This is insane. Not only is this incredibly wasteful of energy, it's also a serious risk to other motorists. One in five trucks were found to have brake faults in 2007, and the larger the truck, the harder it is to stop." "Trucks make up only 4% of the vehicle fleet but cause 16% of all road deaths. This risk is only going to rise with larger trucks" "Claims that larger trucks are part of the government's energy-saving strategy are simply a lie. The government's own figures show that transporting goods by rail is over five times more efficient that transporting goods by truck." 1 "The government is also implying that road user charges will pay for the roads the trucks travel down. This is another lie. The trucking industry didn't pay one cent for the cost of building these roads. The ordinary motorist paid for our roads, and one of the reasons our roads are so expensive to build is that they are being built to carry larger and larger trucks. The trucking industry pays a relatively small fee for some of the damage it does to the road surface. The taxpayer foots the rest of the bill."



Matthew-Wilson believes that the trucking industry is driving much of the government's transport strategy. "The government's policies start to make sense when you remember that Road Transport Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander is a former National Party cabinet minister." The Road Transport Forum was a major donor to political parties at the last election, contributing nearly $100,000 to Labour, National and also to individual MPs. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10566887 "We need to rethink the whole process of transportation instead of trying to patch a sinking ship. The government's own figures show that the current road-based transport system is unsustainable, yet the government wants to expand this system."


New Zealand's roads were never designed for the heavy trucks that now use them, and the National Government wants even heavier trucks running on them. The former restrictions on the transportation of goods more than 40 miles from the railhead were more commonsense and protected our roads, and rail over long distances suited New Zealand's geography in any case. Road transporters made no contribution towards the construction of the roads or the maintenance of them. Road-users charges probably find their way into the consolidated fund rather than being targetted for road maintenance.

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KIwi bus passenger fatally injured by flying truck wheel...

Kiwi bus passenger fatally injured by flying truck wheel...

Investigations are under way into how a truck lost two wheels on the Southern Motorway yesterday. Truck had recently been serviced.

Sergeant Stu Kearns, of the Waitemata serious crash unit, said the truck had recently been serviced but it was too early to say why the wheels came off.

"We are waiting for specialist reports. Vehicle inspectors will be inspecting the mechanics of the truck, which will then be handed on to CIB," he said.

Greg Miller, group general manager of Toll New Zealand, which operates the truck, said the company expressed its sympathies to those injured in yesterday's accident.

The company was co-operating fully with the authorities and had started an internal inquiry into its operating safety procedures, he said.

Witness Jonathan Sanders was driving south on the motorway. "The rear truck wheels separated and materialised from under the truck trailer, having caused substantial damage to the truck.

"Both wheels separated, with one running to the left of the lanes and the othe
When the wheel hit the windscreen, the bus windows "exploded".

"The wheel struck a car and then the bus. The bus windows just exploded inwards, missing the driver."

One southbound lane was closed and another northbound closed for about two and a half hours.

Some further closures were enforced southbound so police could look for the truck's wheel nuts.

A Vietnamese man was taken to Auckland City Hospital with critical head injuries. Three other passengers were taken to Middlemore Hospital with minor injuries. Everyone on the bus will be offered Victim Support counselling.

Zane Fulljames, NZ Bus general manager of operations, said the driver was severely shaken and had been stood down from his duties so support could be provided for him.

Acknowledgements: Andrew Koubaridis, MSN NZ