Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Video showing road workers' down time sparks fierce debate

Chris Marriner
By Chris Marriner
NZ Herald·
14 Jan, 2020 09:21 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Mean height. Photo / Facebook

Mean height. Photo / Facebook

Two road workers' efforts to kill time on the job have sparked a fierce debate online after video of their antics was shared to Facebook.

The clip, filmed near Waihī, shows two road workers engaged in a game of flipping the road cones through the air to try and land them on the base.

The man who filmed the clip wasn't impressed, not by their failed attempts to land the throws, but by what he saw as their lacklustre work ethic.

"This is what our tax money pays for, it pays for these guys to chuck cones around," he said.

"They've been standing there for three hours now, chucking that cone back and forth, flat out these fellas."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Mean height. Photo / Facebook
Mean height. Photo / Facebook

He then narrates an imagined conversation between the workers, before signing off and telling the viewers that he "needs to go and do some work now".

The man's commentary was slammed by those reacting to the video, with one telling him to "get a life".

"Traffic control isn't an easy job. Some days you could be on the paddle up to 11 hours straight without a break or you're monitoring a site for 12 hours without a break. You do that 5 days of the week and see how you're really feeling at the end of the week," the user wrote.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"When you get your down days, you enjoy them cause you don't know what the next day is going to bring and then you have this guy mocking them to the max? Get a life buddy"

Many commenters said they had taken part in the same activity and called the road workers out on their inability to land the trick.

"Couldn't even land the cone," said one, while another congratulated the men on the "mean height" they achieved with their throws.

Some backed the commentator's stance, saying "this is why road works takes soooo bloody long".

Discover more

New Zealand

Flippin' out: Road worker video prompts heated response

15 Jan 09:29 PM
New Zealand

Kiwi roadworkers speak out on hard work, safety and that viral video

16 Jan 01:02 AM

Most defended the pair, however, saying the video didn't truly capture their working day.

"Gummon, they got up out of their warm beds early hours of the fricken dawn (and) left their families behind," said one.

"Two brothers just having a good time at mahi that's all. I'd do exactly the same," said another.

This isn't the first time Kiwi road workers have found fame online, with videos frequently emerging showing workers taking time out to entertain drivers with hilarious dance moves.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Bid to reopen bar closed for months divides community

18 Jun 06:07 PM
Premium
Bay of Plenty TimesUpdated

Opinion: How Crusaders and Chiefs unearthed great talent from other regions

18 Jun 06:01 PM
Bay of Plenty TimesUpdated

'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

18 Jun 06:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bid to reopen bar closed for months divides community

Bid to reopen bar closed for months divides community

18 Jun 06:07 PM

The aspiring new owners say they have 30 years' experience in hospitality.

Premium
Opinion: How Crusaders and Chiefs unearthed great talent from other regions

Opinion: How Crusaders and Chiefs unearthed great talent from other regions

18 Jun 06:01 PM
'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

18 Jun 06:00 PM
Police warn gangs after major drug operation

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP