Shift heavy freight by rail, not juggernaut trucks

Heavier, longer trucks will inevitably lead to more crashes and deaths on our roads and will undermine our rail freight network which is better suited for moving heavy freight, Green Party Associate Transport spokesperson Sue Kedgley said today.

“The last thing we need on our roads are 72 foot, 53 tonne juggernaut trucks. Trucks are already involved in 18% of all deaths on the roads, even though they comprise only 4% the vehicle fleet,” said Ms Kedgley.

The Greens have made a submission against the Government’s proposed rule change that will allow longer heavier trucks on certain routes. Longer, heavier, and ultimately more trucks on our roads will inevitably increase the number of fatalities and serious accidents, Ms Kedgley says.

“Longer, heavier trucks will have slower braking times, will cross the centre line on corners more often, and will be more dangerous to pass,” added Ms Kedgley.

Ms Kedgley said the New Zealand Transport Authority acknowledges that New Zealand’s roads are not currently suited to juggernaut trucks. "Most of our roads are narrow and windy, with steep gradients and narrower widths than are found in other countries. Moving from 44 to 53 tonnes will double the damage caused to our roads — a maintenance cost that will disproportionately fall on local rate payers and taxpayers."

Ms Kedgley pointed out that there has been no Government analysis of how these changes will undermine our rail system. Heavier trucks will reduce per tonne freight costs, enabling trucks to take more freight from rail undermining efforts to shift heavy freight onto rail. Rail currently has great underutilised capacity, is safe, and five times more energy efficient for moving freight than trucks.

“Even a small shift of freight from rail to juggernaut trucks could undermine parts of our rail network and lead to line closures with the flow-on effect of even more freight moving back to roads.”

Ms Kedgley said it was deplorable that the Minister was refusing to release any information to back up his claim of alleged productivity gains of $250 to $500 million. "There is simply too great a public interest in this issue to hide the economic rationale behind a cloud of ‘commercial sensitivity’.”

Green Party submission on big trucks:
http://www.greens.org.nz/node/21517
Truck crash statistics:
http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/Documents/Truck-Crash-Factsheet.pdf