Contractors: Median barriers cause stress for tractor drivers
Rural Contractors New Zealand says median barriers are making roads unsafe and causing stress for those driving tractors with lines of cars behind them.
The issue was discussed at the Rural Contractors conference in Masterton.
The group’s chief executive Andrew Olsen said contractors driving tractors on long stretches of road are facing abuse and being clipped by other drivers who can’t pass them because of the median barriers.
“We’ve got rural contractors having to do 7km runs on State Highway 2 in Bay of Plenty where there are no areas to pull over or slow down, rural contractors in Waikato and other parts of the country are facing similar anger from motorists because of median barriers and no pull over space.”
In a push to increase road safety, the Labour Government invested in median barriers to keep on-coming traffic separated.
Olsen said the push was well intended but causing some issues.
“Our members are telling us it’s becoming quite stressful because they’re travelling down the road in their tractors or machinery, which they’re entitled to do and then they end up with dozens of cars with impatient drivers behind them.”
Olsen said the issue could be fixed with passing bays or areas where contractors could easily and safely pull over to let others pass.
“It’s tough where work has already been done to install the median barriers, but for any future work passing bays need to be considered.”
Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard who attended the conference told the audience he knew exactly what they were talking about because he sees the problem first-hand when he drives to Parliament from his Manawatu¯ home.
Hoggard said there were median barriers preventing over-taking between Levin and Otaki as well as no shoulder space to allow vehicles such as tractors to pull over.
“There’s a lot of tractors trying to get in and out of paddocks, motorists were getting angry as a result, there’s lots of screaming, fingers out the windows and potentially stupid decisions being made.”
He promised to take up the issue of providing for slow-moving machinery with Transport Minister Simeon Brown.
Olsen said his organisation had written to Brown. ■
RURAL ISSUES: A push for safety has upset contractors, Sally Murphy of RNZ reports.