Drivers’ complaints fall on deaf ears
More Taranaki drivers have written to Waka Kotahi seeking compensation for damage caused to their vehicles by the region’s highways than the drivers of Auckland, Wellington and the entire South Island combined.
But Taranaki drivers have been unsuccessful at passing the bill for damage onto the transport agency.
Of the 127 ‘‘compensation complaints’’ Waka Kotahi has received from Taranaki motorists for the year up to October 7, none have been upheld.
The Waka Kotahi website says it will only provide compensation if it hasn’t taken reasonable care to maintain the state highway network in good condition.
When asked for a breakdown on what the complaints were, Waka Kotahi said this would need to be requested under the Official Information Act due to the detail that would need to be collated.
In the past, compensation complaints around the country have included things such as damage caused by potholes, loose chip after roadworks and a sign.
The number of compensation complaints from Taranaki dwarfs the main centres – just 32 were received in the Auckland region and 23 in the Wellington region.
Only Waikato, which has about four times the population of Taranaki, received more complaints with 134.
This comes after dozens of Taranaki drivers have been forced to fork out thousands of dollars to fix busted tyres and rims caused by potholes through the winter.
Amongst them was Ian Lord whose split-second collision with a pothole cost him $5600 after it blew his front and rear tyres.
Lord said he hadn’t made a complaint as he didn’t expect much would come of it, but noted that the day after his accident he counted 83 potholes between Hāwera and New Plymouth.
While costly for drivers, the damages have proved good business for tyre shops with one Stratford shop running out of tyres following damage to the roads caused by weather.
Waka Kotahi regional manager of maintenance and operations, Jaclyn Hankin said there were long sections of SH3 and 3A that were due for rehabilitation or reseals over the next four to five years due to their age.
‘‘While it is correct that high rainfall, groundwater and volcanic ground conditions are not new to Taranaki, they do have more of an impact on ageing roads, such as those above.
‘‘It is not uncommon to see an increase in the number of complaints in a particular area on the back of considerable media, local government or community attention around the state highway network, all of which have been prevalent in Taranaki in recent times.’’
The Covid-19 lockdown, which meant much of the work scheduled for early 2020 was unable to be completed, has also had an impact on roading conditions.
‘‘While our crews have been pushing hard to catch up, like many other businesses and organisations across the country, and around the world, we continue to feel the impacts of Covid through our supply chain, including material, machinery and personnel shortages.’’
Hankin said drivers were expected to drive to the local conditions and recognise that conditions may vary along a stretch of road.
‘‘It is also expected that drivers have insurance for their vehicles in the event of any damage that may occur on the road, and their insurer should be their first point of contact where any damage has occurred and, if appropriate, their insurer would then be in touch with Waka Kotahi.’’
In August, New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom released figures that he said showed hundreds of millions of dollars raised in the region through road user charges and fuel taxes has been spent on transport investments in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
At the time Holdom said Taranaki’s contribution to Waka Kotahi over a period of four years averaged 3% of the New Zealand total, but money invested back into Taranaki roads was ‘‘little more than 1%’’.