Rural road rules for agricultural vehicles are outdated

And as a result the sector is facing significant fines, according to affected contractors. The government agrees but says changes to the law won’t take effect until midway through next year.

A Canterbury contractor received a fine of over $12,000 for an overweight agricultural vehicle recently. He says the outdated laws are crippling some operators.

Contractors reckon the laws don’t reflect the size of modern machinery being used nowadays. The government admits this and says the laws are under review. However, there are concerns about what will happen before new regulations come into force.

According to the 1News report, the tractor and trailer with cattle feed in tow evidently weighed about 39 tonnes. The contractor said the laws for weight limits on New Zealand roads date back to the 1970s. He explained that they are outdated and need changing so contractors can keep operating their machinery on the road legally.

He added that the current weight regulations didn’t reflect the size of modern agricultural machines.

A new tractor alone often exceeds the weight limits according to the existing regulations. 

Rural Contractors New Zealand said that this was an issue plaguing its members across the country. Daryl Thompson, the vice president of Rural Contractors NZ, said it needs to be addressed with urgency. Meantime, contractors and farmers are hit with heavy fines and are unable to move between farms as a result.

Because the government review will take months, the organisation is calling for discretion in the interim. Meantime, the fines issued now are putting rural contracting businesses in jeopardy.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said that the government fully acknowledges and appreciates the problem which will take some months to sort. “In the meantime, they should be talking to the officials about discretion and how that might be applied.”