A ute driver says his attempt to overtake a truck and trailer on a State Highway 29 passing lane could have, in his view, ended in tragedy, when the truck in turn undertook him.
The driver, who did not want his name published, said he had been driving that road for 17 years “and have never seen anything like it”.
The incident occurred about 5.40pm on March 5 along the Lower Kaimai stretch of the highway.
The ute driver said he had safely overtaken the truck in his ute using the passing lane. But then he saw the truck allegedly speeding up behind him in his side mirrors. The truck passed the man’s ute on the left as the passing lane ended.
“I’m like ‘crap, he is going to carry on underneath me’.
To let the truck pass him, the concerned driver said he had to move towards the centre line and slow down in order to not hit the van in front of him.
“I decided to slow down and let the truck driver do his thing.”
He said he had followed up with the company but had not received a response.
He said he made a complaint to the police to prevent further incidents in the future.
Police confirmed a report was made regarding driving behaviour on State Highway 29, on March 5.
“The report is currently being assessed,” a police spokesperson said.
According to a NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi spokesperson, the maximum open road speed limit for all heavy vehicles is 90km/h.
RMD Transport and Bulk Storage was approached for comment.
This is the second recent incident involving a truck on that highway that was caught on video. A truck driver was charged in February after allegedly dangerously overtaking a car over the Kaimāī Range.
2 comments
Wrong
Posted on 15-03-2025 09:22 | By Kancho
The ute driver attempted to overtake a truck trailer that was keeping to the left and maintaining a constant speed. So the ute didn't have enough lane or speed to actually overtake and slowed down because a slower vehicle was up front. I would have followed the truck as it wasn't slow enough to warrant attempting to overtake at an insufficient speed. I wouldn't expect the truck to brake because of the ute impatience or poor decision .
I cannot see....
Posted on 15-03-2025 21:17 | By groutby
..how you could possibly come up with that conclusion Kancho...I agree thankfully there were no great speeds involved, but rather than brake himself as a precaution particularly as a HG vehicle laden or not, the truck driver decided to move over to his left (cyclists?) off the road to get inside the ute...there well have been something going on between them prior to this of course, but either way the truck driver was out of line here (IMO)...
I do find it interesting that we view such situations and clear as it is to most, we seem to interpret it quite differently don't we...I wonder why?...
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