Truckers call for faster crash investigations after SH1 closure near Ward

Truckers are often stuck for hours when roads are unexpectedly closed. Photo / RNZ, Simon Rogers

By Phil Pennington of RNZ

Truckers waiting for hours because of storm damage or while fatal road crashes are investigated are asking if there is a better way.

All fatal and serious crashes must be investigated as if they were crime scenes, which can take time.

Several trucks were trapped on SH1 near Ward by a fatal three-vehicle crash on October 14. One person died, and the National Road Carriers Association said the road was shut for nine hours.

In the same week, truckers were stuck because of slips in the Awakino Gorge. The association texted driver members in the area and across the North Island.

“It doesn’t change the fact that these drivers were stuck for hours, with no food, no toilets and no idea when they’d be able to move,” association chief executive Justin Tighe-Umbers said in a blog.

The association wants to examine how to look after drivers better and cut the costs to the economy.

“Drivers have no choice but to stay with their vehicles and the loads they’re responsible for,” Tighe-Umbers wrote.

“They’re often left without basic necessities and without information.

“This wouldn’t be acceptable in any other workplace – so why is it acceptable for truck drivers?”

Upgrading roads for resilience helped.

The association also suggested more permanent electronic message boards at key state highway junctions, so truckers could switch routes in time, instead of heading down blocked roads too narrow for them to turn their big rigs around.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said it was putting in around 30 new boards called variable message signs by 2027, under a $10 million project.

“The location of VMS will be prioritised and consulted on with industry stakeholders,” a NZTA spokesperson said.

Fatal and serious crashes were a different problem, but with a similar consequence.

“When our largest freight route is closed for nine hours, the cost to the economy is enormous,” Tighe-Umbers said.

The trade-off had to weigh the number of road fatalities that turned out to be crimes against “tens of millions of dollars” in lost productivity for the economy, he said.

Police said they recognised the frustrations, but had to treat serious injury or fatal crashes as a crime scene and preserve evidence.

“Police has a duty to the coroner, to victims and their families to fully and thoroughly investigate these crashes, so if there is any fault, we have the best and accurate evidence possible to put before the courts that would prove any culpability,” strategy and relationships road policing manager Craig Brown said.

“Strengthening our relationships, especially with those in the commercial vehicle industry, remains ongoing, although our first priority is to ensure everyone on our roads remain safe.”

– RNZ