Windscreen woes
Motorists paying a price for North’s roadworks and gravel roads
Motorists and insurance companies are forking out for hundreds of repairs to windscreens as roadworks and gravel roads wreak havoc across Northland.
Northern Advocate readers have reported myriad examples of chipped and cracked windscreens on state highways and roads during and after resealing work.
One repairer has reported a 30 to 40 per cent increase in work to fix vehicles — including logging trucks — damaged by flying loose metal.
Auto Mobile Glass Whanga¯rei manager Conrad Sylva said his team has been “really busy” since April last year when the country moved out of the Covid-19 level 4 lockdown.
The company is doing 30-40 per cent more repairs, he said, mainly entire windscreen replacements in their area, which includes Whanga¯rei and goes from Maungatu¯roto to Dargaville and just before Kerikeri.
Worst-hit are State Highway 1 at Ruaka¯ka¯ and Waipu¯, along with Hikurangi.
“Most of our work is coming from south of Whanga¯rei. About 70 per cent . . . is Ruaka¯ka¯, Waipu¯, Maungatu¯ roto areas — those are the people getting the most issues,” Sylva said.
“There’s been a lot of road works, there’s more traffic and people aren’t travelling overseas so we’ve got more people on the roads compared to this time last year. The infrastructure is growing as well.”
Sylva said logging trucks were also copping it. “We’re doing them constantly, and the concrete trucks [are] getting hit as well.”
Dozens of readers commenting on social media said they have collected numerous chips and have had to replace windscreens, some multiple times. They blamed other motorists driving too fast through roadworks, and the chip not being swept away properly afterwards.
They said the worst spots were SH1 between Ruaka¯ka¯ and Whanga¯rei, further north at Hikurangi, and at Maungakaramea Rd, One Tree Pt Rd, Onerahi Rd, and Kauri.
On the west coast, problem spots are Pouto Rd and SH12 near Ruawai.
Kerikeri resident Zara Harris has had three chips this year, including two between Kerikeri and Whanga¯ rei. Another resident has had three new windscreens in less than a year driving between Whanga¯ rei and Ruaka¯ ka¯ .
Wilkinson Auto Glass Kerikeri manager Caryn Leece said the stretch of state highway between Kerikeri and Whanga¯rei was particularly bad for stone chips.
It was “noticeably worse” in summer when there are lots of roadworks.
“Northland roads are rubbish really,” Leece said. “They end up with a lot of metal on them, and also with the number of trucks on the roads,
they tend to throw up metal and stones. After the road works have been done, the clean-up is negligible sometimes.”
Leece has also noticed more cars on the road with Kiwis visiting their own backyard because of the pandemic. Her company is getting lots of visitors from outside the region asking for windscreen repairs.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency couldn’t say how many complaints it has received over the past year.
A spokesman said the agency “does occasionally receive complaints from motorists with respect to windscreen damage”.
“This damage generally occurs following resealing work, when loose chip remains on the highway surface while the seal settles in.”
The spokesman said speed limits are in place, initially at 30km/h, which helps new seal to “bed in” and prevents stone chips from flying into the windscreens of other motorists.
“Following this the sites are swept, excess chip is removed and the temporary speed limit is typically increased to 50km/h until line marking has been reinstated.
“We understand this can be frustrating for motorists as it is often those who are obeying the temporary speed limits who end up with chips in their windscreen, due to oncoming traffic disregarding temporary speed limits and flicking chips up.”
The Whanga¯rei District Council has had 12 complaints about chipped or broken windscreens this year.
Four were on Maungakaramea Rd, two on One Tree Pt and McEwan Rds and others were on Doctors Hill Rd, Mangapai Rd, Union East St, Colenso St, Collingwood St and Wessex St.
The Kaipara District Council has received two complaints in the past year, both on Matakohe West Rd.
The Far North District Council doesn’t record complaints about windscreen damage.