Source: Radio New Zealand
123RF
Rural contractors say new road rules for agricultural machinery are nowhere to be seen, and in the meantime contractors are still being stung with fines.
To operate tractors or heavy machinery like harvesters on roads, drivers must get a permit. But the rules are “outdated” and not keeping up with new technology, critics say.
Rural Contractors NZ chief executive Andrew Olsen said often new machinery and tractors being imported were already overweight and oversized.
“They arrive and contractors already can’t drive them on roads – that’s before they’ve even added tools or equipment to the back.”
Last year the government said it would address the issue.
The Ministry of Transport said it was working on a range of reforms to land transport rules for heavy vehicles – but the timing for new rules for agricultural vehicles was not clear.
“The review of weight limits is a longer-term piece of work to review the vehicle dimension and mass (VDAM) rule,” Olsen said.
“This rule sets out the maximum permitted weight, width and length for vehicles operated on New Zealand’s roads – including heavy agricultural vehicles. We recognise that the VDAM rule has not kept pace with developments in the industry, such as performance improvements in modern vehicles.”
Because this work required significant research and analysis, the timing of any changes had not yet been confirmed, a ministry spokesperson said.
Olsen said that was frustrating, and feared changes could be years away.
“We believe this should be a priority – it’s about managing those oversized vehicles on the road and determining not that they are safe, but that they are roadworthy and able to meet the standard without needing to necessarily add a whole lot of complexity around obtaining a piece of paper to do so.
“This is a productivity issue. It’s very complicated to get an overweight permit – there’s a few ways to do it, but none of them are simple.”
Olsen respected it would not be a straightforward or quick process to develop new rules, but he just wanted them to get underway.
“We don’t have a lot of time because these machines are on the road now, and we need to find a common sense and pragmatic solution to this sooner rather than later. “
He said since the government signalled change, fines issued had reduced – but he was not sure if that was because regulators were being more lenient or if contractors were working harder to get permits.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
