Stop, think and survive
Another near-miss at blackspot prompts reminder to drivers
A near-miss at a notorious Nelson road junction has prompted a plea for better awareness by trucks at risky intersections.
Appleby resident Philippa Foes-Lamb says she was travelling west on the Appleby section of State Highway 60 when a heavy vehicle pulling a trailer unit pulled out suddenly from Pea Viner Corner.
‘‘I came into the 80kmh zone and all I remember is thinking, ‘Is that truck going to pull out?’ – and then it did and I thought, ‘You have got to be joking’,’’ she said of the incident last Thursday.
‘‘I probably would have been more than eight metres back from the intersection by the time I’d come to a stop – that trailer was still halfway across my lane.
‘‘If I’d crashed into him, there would have been a whole stream of cars going down the Coastal Highway towards Richmond, so it would have been a big mess.’’
Foes-Lamb said at least two other cars had to take evasive action.
She said it appeared that the truck driver had misjudged the gap in traffic and moved out suddenly.
‘‘He must have realised that he didn’t have time, because I wasn’t that far away, I was very visible, so to be honest, I think he was being, ‘I’m bigger than you, I’m going’.’’
While there were no damage or injuries, she said the incident served as a reminder about awareness and driver behaviour at intersections.
‘‘Even if [the authorities] could somehow change that intersection to make it safer for trucks to be coming around that way . . . River Rd is bad as well, but this one is worse just because of the flow of traffic.
‘‘[Truck] drivers should remember they are big and long but they don’t have the zip of a little car to take off.’’
Pea Viner Corner is the intersection of two busy routes, SH60 and the Moutere Highway, and has been the scene of a number of fatal and serious crashes.
It is part of a high-risk route along the Appleby stretch of SH60 and its feeder roads which triggered an NZ Transport Agency review earlier this year. The review of the route, between Three Brothers Corner and Maisey Rd, led to an NZTA proposal to lower the speed limit from 100kmh to 80kmh to improve safety.
Tasman District Council is proposing to lower the speed limits on connecting roads along the 9km stretch to ensure consistency with the lower speed limit proposed for SH60.
The Pea Viner Corner intersection, which crosses SH60 to Cotterell Rd, is currently designated as an 80kmh zone.
Public feedback on the proposal closes next week.
Speaking in February, Appleby Rural Volunteer Fire Force chief Paul Eggers said he welcomed a review of that stretch of the highway, which was ‘‘a lot busier’’ compared with 2004, when he became fire chief.
He said most of the crashes along the Appleby Highway were at intersections, some of which had no turning or merging lanes.
Road Transport Association New Zealand chief executive officer Dennis Robertson said his organisation’s members were quite vocal on roading issues, and intersections was one of the major concerns they had identified.
‘‘As a result, we are in constant discussion with NZTA on roading issues, and by and large they are very accommodating, and changes are made all the time.
‘‘We have had some discussions with the Tasman District Council, and do raise with all local councils issues with roundabouts [and] intersections.’’
Robertson said the industry was putting confident and capable drivers on the roads. It was seeking many more commercial heavy truck drivers to address a current driver shortage
‘‘That trailer was still halfway across my lane. If I’d crashed into him . . . it would have been a big mess.’’
Philippa Foes-Lamb
and the known future increase in freight movements.
He said drivers held the highest class of licence, class 5, which required a comprehensive assessment of their driving ability as part of the graduated driver licence system. Many underwent further ‘‘in cab’’ training and were assessed during their career.
‘‘The standard of driving must be high, given the very complex typography and road conditions they operate on – New Zealand is not like the USA or Europe, where most of this driving is done on four-lane divided highways.’’