31 May 2002

Green MP Sue Kedgley today said the approval for longer logging trucks would be a hazard to motorists and would lead to more heavy trucks on roads when the logs should be moved by rail wherever possible.

"I believe this decision to allow logging trucks up to two metres longer than they already are will be a hazard to motorists, especially when overtaking," said Ms Kedgley.

"There is no doubt that this extra length will also add to the hazards these trucks cause on many of New Zealand's tight winding roads."

Ms Kedgley said making the trucks longer was ignoring the real problem.

"The real issue here is that as our forests come on line over the next five years there will be a corresponding explosion of heavy logging trucks on New Zealand roads.

"The real challenge is getting the logs off our public roads and onto our rail system. If we do not focus on doing this now many of our communities will soon be swamped with hundreds of fully loaded logging trucks," she said.

"Instead of simply making our trucks bigger we must get logs off our roads and onto rail wherever possible and we must reconfigure our rail network to maximise its capacity.

"The more logging trucks that are on our roads the more people will die in accidents and the more damage will be done to our roads," she said.

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