Lethal crash spurs calls to fix log road

Residents of Otaika Valley Rd, just south of Whangarei, fear more carnage on their road if corners are not re-aligned and made safer.
They say the road, a bypass for logging trucks, will not be suitable until the safety work is carried out.
However, police, Whangarei District Council staff and truckies say it's not the road that is the problem - they say road users need to drive to the conditions and stop ignoring warning signs.
The debate has been sparked after truck driver Micheal John Thorburn died when a laden truck and trailer unit travelling in the opposite direction collided with his truck piggy-backing an empty trailer last week.
The trailer of the oncoming truck rolled, spilling logs that were thrown through the cab of Mr Thorburn's truck.
The road has undergone major upgrades and is a major link for heavy vehicles, and in particular logging trucks, moving from west of Whangarei to Marsden Pt port.
Only minutes after the latest fatal crash fellow truck driver and local farmer Ian Jackson came across the tragedy. "There was nothing left of the cab. The aftermath was pretty graphic," he said.
"It could have been a school bus there in the middle of the logs."
He said there had been four logging truck accidents in Otaika Valley Rd in the last 12 months including one in the same spot. "It's just a matter of time before there is another major."
His concerns were shared by his father Kevin Jackson, who said the camber on parts of the road was wrong, causing trailers to flip.
The road had not been made as a suitable heavy transport bypass, he said.
"Someone is dead because of a short cut.
"They knew there was something wrong when the council had to go along and put up signs telling people how fast to go."
According to Mr Jackson sr the solution was simple: "Fix it. Putting up a few signs telling people to slow down isn't going to work."
Maungatapere resident Terry Hales said the road was out of date and he shuddered when he passed a logging truck anywhere along it.
"Those corners need to be straightened out. The council will say there is not enough funding and say drivers are going too fast. It ends up going round in circles."
He added: "They push the trucks out this way so no one in town gets killed.
"My concern is that any further works are done properly."
Selwyn Mills, who farmed on the road for 51 years, said until a future upgrade "we are in fear of more deaths".
"We're not scaremongering but we know what goes on out here and every time a truck goes over there could be a car under it. There have been a few coffins carted out of here."
No charges have been laid over Mr Thorburn's death, as police are still piecing together what caused the collision.
Whangarei-based Senior Constable Jim Hawthorn has been investigating fatal crashes for 29 years. He said while Otaika Valley Rd was "not as straight as an arrow" if motorists in cars and logging trucks travelled at the advisory speeds the road was not a problem.
"The road has never caused an accident. It just lies there. It's the person behind the wheel," Mr Hawthorn said.
"Speed is always a factor in crashes no matter if you're travelling 1km/h or 1000km/h. It's just what effect that speed has."
Traffic flows on the road last November showed an average daily count at the State Highway One end of 1700 vehicles and at the Maungatapere end 1100 vehicles.
Whangarei District Council parking and traffic asset manager Wayne Davison said about 800 vehicles made the entire trip, but he could not say how many were heavy vehicles.
There had been issues with a windy bush area section of the road but speed signs had been put up.
"It has been designed to handle trucks but it is not up to state highway standards," he said. There were no plans to straighten it.
New Zealand Road Transport Association area manager Paul Scott said the industry relied heavily on the upgrade the council had completed but the industry would welcome improvements to difficult corners.
He supported additional signage warning drivers of speed limits that had to be adhered to.