It’s Political

WHAT THE POLITICIANS THINK ABOUT TRUCKING

THE NEW ZEALAND TRUCKING INDUSTRY FACES many challenges – many of them influenced by Government policy.

Apart from the many problems currently created by the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s the ongoing driver shortage, the worsening state of the nation’s roading network and looming emissions reduction legislation…

So, who among our political parties offers any salvation for the industry in these situations?

To have some insight into what politicians are thinking about issues impacting the road transport industry, NZ Truck & Driver has offered each of the major political parties the opportunity to voice their views on trucking matters each month.

This month it’s only the ACT Party taking the opportunity to offer its view. T&D

Road to zero productivity?

By Simon Court, ACT Party spokesperson on transport

WHEN I TALK TO PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS I HEAR ABOUT

idiots overtaking trucks on double yellow lines, wear and tear on trucks from roads in poor condition, and how great the new sections of state highway are to drive on.

The Waka Kotahi road to zero plan predicted the installation of 198km of median barriers and 322km of side barriers by mid-2021. But by April this year, only 61km of median barriers and 312km of side barriers were in place.

The new target is 183kms of median barriers and 75 roundabouts between 2021–24. In addition the agency intends to make speed changes on 16,500kms of local roads and state highways.

Current progress is around one-fifth of the way to the 2024 target, one Waka Kotahi themselves have called ambitious.

The Road to Zero road safety strategy sets an ambition to reduce deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads, cycle lanes and footpaths by 40% over the next 10 years, which would prevent 750 deaths and 5,600 serious injuries in that time compared to current trauma.

Over 50% of New Zealand’s roads have a medium-high or high infrastructure risk rating. Adding median barriers or other safety infrastructure can increase crash survival rates by up to 90%.

This matters to all motorists, not just professional drivers, because driving to or for work is often a much higher risk than other workplace hazards. An unsafe road, even with a lower speed limit, is still unsafe.

According to Transporting NZ boss Nick Leggett; “Road maintenance has been de-funded over a decade. Over six years, the cost of maintaining a kilometre stretch of highway has increased by 30% - we haven’t seen that per cent of increase in budget.”

The Government focus on reducing speed over 16,500 kms of the road network, without any targets to reduce congestion and journey times, will be a further handbrake on productivity and business profitability.

Transmission Gully opened recently, despite the outrageous $336,000 cost of the opening ceremony, this means peak-period travel time savings estimated at around 10 minutes per vehicle between Kapiti and Wellington, 15 minutes between Kapiti and the Hutt Valley, and five to seven minutes between Porirua and the Hutt Valley.

A 22km section of the Waikato Expressway bypassing Hamilton is due to open on July 11. This new four lane dual carriageway will cut 6km and up to 35 mins off journey times, and allows a maximum speed of 110km/h.

The Minister of Transport, often criticised for wasting tens of millions of dollars on bike bridges and train projects admitted that; “The Expressway will improve economic growth and productivity through more efficient movement of people and freight, as a result of increased capacity and passing opportunities.”

He also stated the obvious – that if you design and build a road properly, then vehicles can operate safely at much higher speeds.

I drove from Taupo to New Plymouth recently, on some of the best and worst sections of State Highway in New Zealand. My observation is that the main barrier to installing more barriers and passing lanes, is that the roads are simply not wide enough. The geometry hasn’t changed in many places since roads were hand dug for bullock trains in the 19th century.

This is simple stuff for road designers and construction engineers to remedy, as long as the Transport Agency is given the budget and direction to actually improve the road network. In addition to improving safety, we must introduce performance measures around reducing congestion and improving efficiency.

ACT proposes that the Transport Agency should be reformed with those primary goals. We can safely assume that the modern safety in design approach will still deliver safer roads, and we will get there faster, with lower emissions, and happier drivers.

Otherwise it won’t just be trucks and drivers stuck in the slow lane - the New Zealand economy will continue to underperform, salaries won’t catch up to rising costs, and communities along the highways will never thrive the way they should be able to. T&D

Simon Court Simon Court