Traffic complaint

Press, 1 July 1983, Page 12

Traffic complaint

Sir,—On Tuesday, June 7, at about 5.20 p.m., we were driving down Halswell Junction Road in a truck, three metres in height,Sunset had occured at 5.02 some 18 minutes before. On the road also

were other homeward-bound drivers relying on their headlights for vision. Approaching us in the darkness we saw red flashing lights of M.O.T. vehicles. We wondered what their purpose might be. Suddenly about 100 m away on collision course with our vehicle was a small plane on a truck. This plane was obviously over width with no white or reflective material on it. As it was dark there was no way of seeing any “wide load” sign. Would it be possible for the M.O.T. to offer an explanation for such dangerous behaviour, or was it just plain stupidity on somebody’s behalf for moving such a load in the dark? — Yours, etc., K. McCORMICK. June 9, 1983. [Mr J. O. Butterfield, Traffic Superintendent, Christchurch district, Ministry of Transport, replies: “On June 7 the Ministry of Transport was requested to issue an over-dimension permit to the Royal New Zealand Air Force to transport a 7.93 m width aircraft from the Rakaia River, Southbridge, to Wigram. A load of this width required a Ministry of Transport pilot who was supplied. The

departure time from Southbridge was to have been 3 p.m. but because of the route out of the riverbed being narrow with overhanging trees, the time taken to get to the main road was longer than planned. The piloting officer considered that it was better to proceed than to leave a wide load such as this on the road overnight, and an aircraft would have required an overnight guard. The units were well lighted, and escort and pilot vehicles were correctly signed and illuminated, to warn other traffic. We regret any inconvenience to traffic caused by the late departure but emphasise that safety was a number one priority. "]