Safety concerns over condition of SH1 between Ashburton and Timaru
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Motorists are being warned away from certain types of wheels in South Canterbury by one tyre retailer who says the region’s highways “just aren’t fit for purpose”.
Carl Vaughan, co-owner of Goodyear Autocare Timaru, told The Timaru Herald that pothole-damaged wheels, and tyres, had become a part of the business much more regularly.
The poor condition of State Highway 1 between Timaru and Ashburton was highlighted at the weekend on Auckland road safety campaigner, Geoff Upson’s social media page.
“There are hundreds of potholes between Ashburton and Timaru, and many locals are becoming increasingly concerned about the condition of the highway and the safety risks it presents,” a post on the page said.
“This isn’t about attacking anyone personally – it’s about highlighting a genuine safety issue, and making sure our roads are maintained to a safe standard for everyone who uses them.”
Vaughan, a 16-year veteran of the industry, said on Monday that his business would now deal with at least one cracked wheel a week.
“We’ve got two sitting here today. I wouldn’t say we’re dealing with pothole damage every day, but we’re dealing with it multiple times in a week now.”
Vaughan said recently they had customers who said they had been parked on the side of the road with 10 other cars.
“…they’re all changing their wheels because they’ve all smashed their tyres and rims on the same pothole… we’ve had that happen a couple of times now.”
“It was really bad around Hinds (about 19km south of Ashburton) … we had three customers in our shop alone from one pothole.
“You can imagine that not everybody came to us so how many vehicles were damaged off that pothole if we got three? It’s getting bad.”
Vaughan acknowledged the massive rain of last week wouldn’t have been good for the road, but said there was “a lot of vehicle damage and no one wants to accept it, or pay for, it so it becomes insurance jobs”.
“It’s more work for us, but you feel for the customer having to having to deal with it when they’re just trying to get from A to B and they’re breaking wheels.”
Vaughan said they had, in the past couple of years, discouraged people from buying bigger wheels, and low profile tyres, because the roads weren’t fit for purpose any more.
“You can’t put low profile tyres onto cars any more because they (the roads) just break the wheels.
“It’s probably become a lot more noticeable over the past 4 or 5 years. They need to do something.”
Vaughan highlighted recent repair work on State Highway 8 around Fairlie that was now “all falling to bits again”.
“Why do they keep falling to bits? That’s … the bigger question that needs to be asked?
“I certainly am not an expert on why the road has fallen to bits, but I can definitely tell you it’s become a much bigger issue, and it’s costing people a lot of money, and costing the insurance companies a lot of money.”
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said at the time that Downer Group had provided a partial refund after some of the resealing work failed, with the $616,659 repair contract going to Higgins Contractors.
Rangitata MP James Meager said “as the local MP who travels this stretch of road often, I share the frustrations of my constituents at its current state”.
“I have raised my concerns with NZTA directly about this issue and will continue to advocate to ensure developing potholes and roading issues are addressed promptly, alongside longer-term investment in this important piece of roading infrastructure.
“I have always strongly advocated for the roading, and infrastructure needs of Timaru and Ashburton and have seen strong success through key projects like the second Ashburton Bridge and the SH1 Timaru Showgrounds project, both supported by this Government.
“Ultimately, we are committed to fixing the basics, and building the future of infrastructure in New Zealand.”
Meager said the Government was making a record investment in Canterbury, with $1.8b committed through the 2024–27 National Land Transport Programme, a 50% increase on the previous period.
'The South Island overall has benefited from a 42% increase in funding this period.'
Upson said highways were the “main connectors for our communities” and needed to be safe for people to get from one town to another.
“Probably the biggest issue I’m personally seeing at the moment, is tar bleed or flushing.
“A lot of road surfaces are at or beyond end of life. We’ve also had a period where low quality products have been used to try and save money, which you know is counterproductive.
“We’ve sort of seen a lot of areas of road that have been fixed using substandard product. And also we’re seeing a lot of road surfaces which are at end of life, which are experiencing tar bleed or that shiny surface.”
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has been approached for comment.