By CATHY ARONSON
HAMILTON - Carter Holt Harvey wants to increase the length of its logging trucks to make them less likely to tip over.
The forestry company has tested a truck 4m longer than the maximum allowed length of 20m and stacked nearly 1m lower than the normal height.
Distribution manager Phil Shattock said the trucks carried the same weight, allowing them to pay their way, but the length reduced the height, making them more stable.
The Waikato regional land transport committee yesterday refused to support Carter Holt's application for a permit from the Land Transport Safety Authority to run the trucks on the road.
The committee said it would not support the application without research being done on the trucks' manoeuvrability and their effects on other vehicles, including passing times.
The regional manager for the Land Transport Safety Authority, Glenn Bunting, said Carter Holt should wait for a proposed rule change on truck dimensions, which would explore all options, including increasing the length of logging trucks.
Mr Shattock said the results of the tests would be independently researched before Carter Holt applied for a permit.
He said a 24m truck stacked 2.8m high felt more stable than a 20m truck stacked 3.65m high.
"What threatens people is trucks loaded right up to their extension pins," he said.
"The reality is that if you are a truck owner you are going to stack it right up so you don't pay for carting fresh air. If the trucks are longer with the same weight restrictions the load will be distributed evenly and more safely."
Logging trucks were in about three crashes a month during the past four years, and 66 per cent of these involved roll-overs.
The Bay of Plenty, with 67 crashes, had the most in the past four years and the Waikato, with 18, had the second highest.
Mr Shattock said that after speed and driver error, stability was the next biggest cause of roll-overs.
Mr Bunting said Carter Holt should wait for the Road Transport Forum's research into the benefits and costs of longer log trucks and for Transit NZ's investigation into longer and heavier trucks.
He said the results would help formulate a dimension and mass rule, due to be approved next year.
"I don't believe what they [Carter Holt] are seeking is possible," he said.
"There are so many unanswered questions in their proposal that are being worked through by the whole industry through the rule change and research."
Logging firm sees safety in length
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.