Pot holes were reported on State Highway 16 at Kaukapakapa. Photo / Facebook, Geoff Upson
Pot holes were reported on State Highway 16 at Kaukapakapa. Photo / Facebook, Geoff Upson
Kiwi truckies are asking the public to send them photos of potholed and cracked highways so they can show the Government how poor local roads are.
The National Road Carriers Association put the call out on its Facebook page last Friday with people already posting photos of a number of dodgy road surfaces across the country.
The association launched the campaign after an industry survey showed truckies were worried about safety due to poor roads and rash driving by other motorists.
"The industry is telling us the road conditions are getting worse and they are not being maintained as well as they used to be," association chief executive David Aitken said.
"This Government is talking about safety but if your roads are deteriorating, then the risk is increasing."
An image of State Highway 3 near Te Kuiti was also shared for the cracking in the northbound lane. Photo / Facebook, Steve Sunde
As a result, the association posted on Facebook that it wanted to collect as many photos as possible to present to the Government.
One Facebook user posted a comment, asking whether the association was "honestly prepared for the amount of photos you are gonna get of s*** patches of road".
The National Road Carriers Association replied: "of course".
"We believe if we will get more pictures, it means that we can present this to a government and they would be willing to hear us," it said.
The post has already gathered in over a dozen photos from motorists including photos of potholes on SH16 at Kaukapakapa, cracking on SH3 near Te Kuiti, and potholes on SH29 in the Kaimai Ranges.
"The roads in a lot of places in the country are in a very poor state of disrepair," Ballie Transport's John Ballie said.
Pot holes were reported on State Highway 16 at Kaukapakapa. Photo / Facebook, Geoff Upson
Ballie runs three trucks that deliver goods to supermarkets from Auckland to the King Country and says there's more traffic using the road than ever before and "we're not keeping up with the maintenance".
"National Road Carriers Association are looking for your help in a long-term project which will go towards highlighting this issue.
"There are many roads in NZ which trucks travel on regularly but remain in poor condition. Now we need hard evidence from you to make this work," the post said.
"Next time when you are driving on a main road or highway which is in poor condition, please let us know."
Ballie Transport's John Ballie said Kiwi roads were in a "state of disrepair" and believed this had contributed to the number of fatal crashes this year.
The Government's efforts to put safety barriers on the sides of roads and in median strips down the centre also seemed to be coming at the cost of keeping up normal repair work, he said.
Ballie runs three trucks delivering goods from Auckland to supermarkets in the Waikato and said the potholes and cracks were also taking a toll on his vehicles.
"Our truck repairs and maintenance costs are at an all-time high - the road surfaces are really knocking the vehicles around."
NRAC's Aitken said another concern was that when roads were repaired, this was only lasting a few days in some cases.
"So it is the standard of repair and the standard of the roads in the first place that is a concern," he said.
"It is putting a lot of stress on the operators themselves because they are being chucked and bounced around on these roads - and it is also adding to the cost of repairs and maintenance on the trucks."
The association also wanted new measures to educate other motorists about safe driving round trucks.
Its drivers were reporting more and more sightings of cars having near misses when overtaking trucks.
