New Zealand truckers chase extra permits

Interest in obtaining a high productivity motor vehicle (HPMV) permit in New Zealand remains high since the amended Vehicle Dimension and Mass (VDM) Rule came into effect on 1 May this year.

To date, the NZ Transport Agency has received 442 permits and approved 29 HPMV routes, with more being assessed by their staff.

Most HPMV routes do not solely exist on state highways; therefore, applications are also being assessed by individual councils to consider local road suitability. This ensures the entire journey is reviewed before an application is approved or declined.

Councils play an important part in a permit approval where a route travels on local roads. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is working with them to progress applications, and in some instances they are talking to more than one authority because a proposed route passes through different jurisdictions.

An example in a recent update from the NZTA details an Otago/Southland company that had applied for and was granted a licence to carry heavier loads for a 51km route along two state highways. Southern Transport Co Ltd transfers woodchips between a saw mill in Winton (30km north of Invercargill) and the Dongwha Patinna Plant (50km north of Invercargill). Until recently, Southern Transport carried the woodchips via a two-driver, 24-hour operation delivering 10 loads totalling 275 tonnes. The route travels along State Highway 96 and State Highway 1 S and approximately 120m of Southland District Council road.