Poor roads take physical and mental toll on truckies

Tuesday, 22 September 2020

Trucks held up at multiple roadworks meant stress for drivers and put pressure on logbook hours, said Jakob Honing of Kerikeri firm Jaklines.

A National Road Carriers (NRC) claim that the state of the country’s roads is taking a physical and mental toll on truck drivers has been backed by truckies calling some of the country’s roads “a disgrace.”

One driver who carts logs to mills and ports around the central North Island said some, like that to Tokoroa’s Kinleith Mill from Taupō were an “absolute nightmare.”

“And yet our road user charges have just gone up six percent, second time in two years, and we get no better roads for it.

“I want my road user money spent on the roads I have to drive on every day.”

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The country's roads are technically a place of work but seem to be exempt for those rules that other businesses have to follow in providing a safe work environment, said National Road Carriers chief executive officer David Aitken.

The NRC, as part of the Road Transport Forum, wrote in early September to government ministers suggesting road maintenance projects be added to the “shovel ready” list.

“If our roads were a factory or a building site, the workplace safety inspectors would be down on the company directors like a ton of bricks,” said NRC chief executive officer David Aitken.

“They are technically a place of work but seem to be exempt for those rules that other businesses have to follow in providing a safe work environment.”

A truck on the tight squeeze around Bulli Point on the road between TaupÅ and Turangi.

NRC represents 1,800 road transport operators, collectively operating 16,000 trucks throughout New Zealand.

In a release it quoted the case of Kerikeri-based Jaklines, which runs four trucks, saying it had two drivers leave because driving on Northland roads was too hard on their bodies.

Repair work on the Desert Road may involve nighttime closures in the spring summer maintenance period.

Jaklines managing director Jakob Honing said the delays drivers experienced at multiple roadworks also caused stress for drivers and put pressure on logbook hours.

GR Transport owner George Ronke who has seven general freight and logging trucks travelling north and south from Hamilton, said drivers had to take extra time and care as loads bounce around.

“When you have to pay the repair bills it gets a bit costly. Units have to get greased every 15,000 kms, but the roads are still hard on them, especially spring hangers and king pins.”

Ronke was dismissive of the quality of the workmanship on some State Highways including around Te Kauwhata and Ohinewai, saying they had become potholed quickly.

While the truckies concerns coincided with the announcement of Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency’s spring/summer road maintenance programme for the central North Island, the patching suggested would be unlikely to calm their fears.

Waikato Transport System Manager Cara Lauder said Waka Kotahi would be delivering a number of roadworks over the warmer spring and summer months, including on pinch points between Taupō and Turangi and on the Desert Road where some work would require nighttime road closures.

“Last year we delivered our biggest ever annual maintenance programme. This year we will be implementing more short term and cost-effective repair solutions such as pothole repairs and localised patching work rather than more significant maintenance improvements. This should result in less disruption on the network.”

But one driver who said his company of around 25 trucks spent a million dollars on road user charges last year said more substantial repairs were needed.

“I was dropping down into Wairakei the other day, and the same guy that has been doing it for years was there with his wheelbarrow of hotmix, and he’s trying to guide me towards the pothole that he’s just chucking his hotmix in, so I’m his steam roller and I’m thinking how long is that going to last? Sure enough first rain and it’s already gone.”