A truck blown off the road on State Highway 2 near Takapau on Tuesday.
A truck blown off the road on State Highway 2 near Takapau on Tuesday.
Truck drivers are being urged to plan their routes carefully and heed weather forecasts after at least three trucks were blown off New Zealand’s highways in the past two days.
A Mainfreight truck’s trailer rolled on State Highway 8 south of Tekapo as winds gusted up to 140km/h yesterday, anothertruck was blown off SH2 near Takapau in the Central Hawke’s Bay today and another tipped on SH2 in the Wairarapa early this morning.
A cabin, home to a nail salon, was also blown onto its side in Dannevirke and roofs and sheds torn to pieces, with iron sheeting being blasted through the streets of Norsewood.
One person was seriously injured by the Hawke’s Bay truck crash, and there were no reports of injuries from Tekapo.
David Boyce, chief executive of the New Zealand Trucking Association, told the Herald “it’s normally safe” to drive in the wind, “it just depends on the vehicle”.
“If they’re empty, they can be a bit more at risk than one that’s fully loaded. It’s really the light trucks with big bodies that may have issues.
A truck trailer rolled due to high winds on State Highway 8 south of Tekapo. Photo / NZTA
A truck rolling on SH2 in the Wairarapa about 7.40am. Photo / Supplied
The Snazzy Nailz nail salon in Dannevirke blown on its side by the high winds.
“But it’s a just a case of planning your journey.”
Boyce said he was writing a note in the association’s monthly newsletter about keeping safe on the road in the wind. He said the association had launched a safety campaign this year, and watching the conditions was key.
“It’s called ‘Truck Safe’, and it’s all about managing the safety within your business, and that’s something that if you were running Truck Safe in your business, you’d certainly sort things like environmental factors when you’re scheduling trucks.
“It’s just making sure that you try and plan for the conditions and make sure that your driving staff are trained to drive in those sorts of conditions.”
Boyce said some crashes could still have other circumstances behind them other than the wind.
“Certainly, with some of the trucks that have rolled over recently, it appears that the wind may have been one thing, but we don’t know for certain. It could have been another factor at all.”
He encouraged truckies to keep track of road conditions on the New Zealand Transport Agency’s website.
MetService has warned that driving in the gusty conditions may be difficult, especially for high-sided vehicles.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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