Wet tar seal on State Highway 1 causes thousands of dollars worth of damage to Ruakākā driver’s car

All of Dan Tothill's tyres needed to be replaced due to the shoddy tar seal on State Highway 1 in Ruakākā.

An investigation is taking place into the shoddy tar seal that damaged vehicles along a busy portion of State Highway 1 in Ruakākā earlier this year.

But that is of little comfort to a Bream Bay motorist with a debilitating knee injury stranded at home, carless.

Dan Tothill hasn’t had a car since January 28, when it copped more than $5000 worth of damage at the hands of the wet tar seal.

His pursuit for compensation started as soon as his car had managed to crawl home at 10km/h on four wrecked tyres that afternoon.

“Stupidly, I was going down the road to the GAS station to get a pie,” he said.

As Tothill neared SH1 from Sandford Rd, he pulled up behind a traffic management truck where the workers were putting cones out. Unbeknownst to Tothill, they were closing the road to anyone but residents.

“If no one is telling you anything, then it seemed all right to pull out.”

When Tothill turned onto the highway he noticed the new seal, but couldn’t tell it was wet.

“As soon as I drove about five metres on the seal, I could tell that something wasn’t right.”

Wet tar seal on State Highway 1 by Sandford Rd has caused a major headache for a Ruakākā motorist. Photo / Tania Whyte

Stones flicked through his open window and dug into his car’s paintwork.

“At that stage I was behind the truck, so couldn’t overtake, and I couldn’t turn around.”

Tothill pulled up beside the workers and called out that the “seal was pretty shit”.

“But at no stage was I told to stop, and now my car is damaged. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone for the pie.”

The lengthy list of repairs needed includes four new tyres, repairs to the front bumper cover, bonnet, headlamp washer covers, and both front guards - estimated to cost $5189.

“If I could fix it myself I would, but I’m on the disability benefit,” Tothill said.

The “timing is awful” as he is currently unable to work due to a debilitating knee injury.

And until someone fronts up with compensation, Tothill will remain without a car.

“I live rurally. I can’t walk anywhere, my knee is buggered.

“I have to rely on friends to take me to the supermarket,” he said.

As soon as Tothill got home, he rang Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency and emailed Fulton Hogan to find out about compensation - the ongoing journey to which turned into a drawn-out ping-pong match as he bounced between the two agencies at their directions.

Tothill said if he was able to work, he would just fork out the money on his insurance excess.

“But unfortunately, I’m not in a situation where I can do that.”

Tothill doesn’t want heads to roll. He just wants his independence restored.

“It’s not unreasonable to want my car back in the condition that it left the house that day,” he said.

A Waka Kotahi spokesperson said they were working with Fulton Hogan regarding the issue of chip loss on the Ruakākā stretch of SH1.

“We cannot comment further at this stage as a full investigation is under way to see what has happened.”

In the case of Dome Valley, at least 58 motorists had lodged compensation claims for vehicles damaged by the dodgy tar seal. All of which would be taken seriously, Fulton Hogan chief operating officer for infrastructure Simon Dyne said at the time.

They advised anyone whose vehicle had been damaged due to the tar seal issue to lodge a compensation claim by emailing info@nzta.govt.nz or phoning 0800 4 HIGHWAYS.

The spokesperson said Fulton Hogan had carried out more resealing work on the Mata and Ruakākā sections last week amid “good weather and low traffic”.