One killed in two truck crash

State Highway 27, near Matamata, remains closed this morning following a fatal crash involving two trucks.

A tow truck and another truck crashed on a bridge, 7km south of Matamata, around 10pm.


Police are investigating a fatal crash between two trucks.

Police say the road is still closed 'due to complexities of towing one of the trucks involved”.

The driver of a second truck had minor injuries.

The serious crash unit and the commercial vehicle investigation unit were called to the fatal crash, as investigations into the cause continue.

Diversions are in place with northbound traffic carrying on via Hinuera Road and southbound traffic diverted via SH24, SH29 and back onto SH27.

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16 comments

Sadness

Posted on 06-05-2016 08:51 | By Amnesia Oasis

I lament deeply the loss of this victim's life and the pain it causes to his/her family. It is a disturbing upheaval which is extremely difficult for even the strongest of us to bear. This tragic collision, which has become almost a daily occurence in the deadly Auckland-Hamilton-Tauranga Triangle of truck danger, highlights once again the urgent necessity to bring these trucks under control. I read recently that the NZ Ministry of Transport has proposed increasing the permissible width of trucks to 2.55 meters and permissible freight load to 45 tonnes. In light of current events, I question the wisdom of this proposal given that this will increase probability of trucks intruding into paths of other vehicles and increase force of impact in the event of a collision.


It is sad

Posted on 06-05-2016 11:54 | By whataplace

It is sad that people are affected by vehicle accidents. What's not so sad is the constant barrage of blame that lands on trucks and there drivers that happens on this web site after every accident. Sure there are some cowboy's driving, but that happens in every type of business in the country. From my experience ( which is vast when it comes to accidents) is most of the times when trucks are involved in accidents they are not usually the ones to blame. Also try buying something in your local shop that hasn't seen the inside of a truck....


SH27 Truck Crash

Posted on 06-05-2016 12:30 | By KevinM

One would think that after the massive number of crashes on this particular bridge on this highway that the roading and policing powers that be would SERIOUSLY look at widening the carriageway and the bridge at this place. NOT always the TRUCKIES fault when you have large/long loads and and the road does not cater for two at a time. MPDC should have fixed this years ago. Just an old fellas point of view.


Amnesia

Posted on 06-05-2016 13:18 | By Kenworthlogger

As usual you are trying to spread your uninformed hatred for trucks and their drivers on this website. You show examples of the publics ignorance when it comes to road freight in general. You can currently freight loads of 50 tons on 50 max HPMV vehicles and more with special permits. This show how out of touch with reality you really are. Cars have more crashes and kill more people in NZ than any other vehicle type. Totally agree with your comments Whataplace that some people are just plain imbociles like Amnesia.


Truckies

Posted on 06-05-2016 14:06 | By socantor01

@whataplace: So, one truck good, two trucks not good?


Sadness v2

Posted on 06-05-2016 14:54 | By truck

Amnesia should hold off on his comments regarding accidents regarding truck and/or other vehicles until the results of the investigations are known. His comments not only disrespect the deceased but also help to create stress and anguish for the ones left behind and the other parties. If he cares to take a look at the stuff website at the article about this accident he will see that the larger unit (B train) was the innocent affected party with the accident involving the other(much smaller)truck crossing the entre line into the path of the other truck. At this stage it is uncertain as to what part road conditions played in this accident. So please Amnesia keep your uncalled for biased comments to your self and respect all parties in these accidents. There is now one more truck driver that is going to be affected for a long long time.


Socanor01

Posted on 06-05-2016 14:55 | By Kenworthlogger

What are you trying to say? Does not make any sense. If it is the particular bridge im thinking its one of the narrowest in the country on a main hwy. Two trucks only just fit on the bridge at the sametime assuming there are no windshear moments, tyre blowouts, trailer wobbles, potholes, road camber etc.


ken

Posted on 06-05-2016 15:33 | By maildrop

I don't think you should be name calling Amnesia Oasis for expressing an opinion. Particularly if you spell imbecile incorrectly. Ironic. I have told you before that it is not a competition between cars and trucks. I don't doubt that you are correct in stating car drivers cause more crashes and deaths than truck drivers. There are thousands of terrible Kiwi car drivers. But it is irrelevant to the points made by Amnesia Oasis. Haulage is an industry and the vehicles are significantly more dangerous. As such, standards and skills should be much higher. In New Zealand they are woefully inadequate - and what is your 'excuse'? - at least we're not as bad as car drivers! That's not saying much is it? I don't need to be thankful to trucks for bringing my shopping to the supermarket to express my dismay at the standard of driving.


Well said Truck

Posted on 06-05-2016 15:46 | By Kenworthlogger

Totally agree with you mate. Amnesia does not care for anyone else. They are only interested in spreading their hatred for trucks on this website everytime there is an accident involing a heavy vehicle. Our job is bad enough as it is without having to put up with that rubbish...


Maildrop

Posted on 06-05-2016 17:28 | By Kenworthlogger

Everyone is allowed an opinion but spreading hatred is appalling. Yes i made a typo. Big deal. Im human. Check the facts yourself. In NZ cars kill more people by causing the accident than trucks do. Yes it is no competition as cars win that one hands down. According to the way you think Jumbo jets are bigger than other vehicles so can be significantly more dangerous so should we ban them too. Skills are way better in truck drivers. You have to sit and pass at least 4 extra licenses more than car drivers do before you are able to drive a heavy multi combination truck. There is no fluking that process.. You cant argue with the facts ah....


Convenient scapegoat

Posted on 06-05-2016 18:25 | By Amnesia Oasis

Like an old scratched vinyl LP record repeating itself, once again we hear the blame very conveniently laid upon "road conditions" (narrow roads, camber, potholes, etc.), but never laid where it should be; the root cause of the problem which is driver behavior. It is true that some roads do present these adverse conditions to all drivers, not just truck drivers. However, these conditions would not present any danger when negotiated with responsible driving. A responsible driver will adjust his/her driving to suit the conditions. An irresponsible driver will not. It is only when they are confronted by careless drivers that perilous situations arise. To use an anthropomorphic idiom.....This scapegoat is on its last legs !


Comments

Posted on 06-05-2016 18:54 | By whataplace

Lots of angry comments about this topic. When I first post, it was to encourage all to see both sides of this very real problem on our roads. There are lot of truck movements on our roads, and for most this is a rewarding yet low paid and stressful job. Unfortunately when these big vehicles are involved in an accident ( whoever is at fault ) they are normally very unforgiving due to size. The driver then has to live with this forever! I guess walking a mile in someone's shoes before posting an opinion might help....


Amnesia

Posted on 06-05-2016 21:23 | By Kenworthlogger

Your comments blaming the truck drivers (one of them now dead) before anyone knows what has happened is downright disgusting and shows exactly what sort of person you really are. Im sure both drivers families have already gone thru enough without reading your rubbish.


Ken

Posted on 07-05-2016 08:04 | By maildrop

You're at it again. Don't like an opinion, can't argue against it, so make up stuff and claim to be a mind reader - when did I say or think Jumbo jets should be banned?! Obviously airlines have a higher threshold for for their pilots. If pilots had the same level of intelligence as truck drivers and had the same disregard for the law and safety I would not fly on one. Likewise with surgeons. Horses for courses. All I AM saying and thinking Ken, is that for the haulage industry, in this country, the bar is obviously not set high enough, hence the number of truck crashes. You can't argue with the high number of truck crashes here in comparison with other countries. And it is not the fault of the road - it is driver skill and attitude.


Some context.

Posted on 07-05-2016 08:28 | By Devils-advocate

Some of you see the word "truck" and immediately start frothing at the mouth like rabid dogs. However "truck" is a very broad term, encompassing anything from a 3 ton flatdeck like a builder may use, to a multi-axle 100ton-plus specialist heavy haulage unit. A tow truck doesn't in the same category as the "juggernaughts" as you ferals describe them, nor does the moving truck that lost control on the kaimais last week, so to use them to cast a black mark on the road haulage industry just doesn't wash with those of us who know what we are talking about. It's just like grounding the air NZ fleet because there were a few accidents in the Piper club. Secondly, as the causes of these accidents are very rarely reported, nobody here is qualified to lay blame on any of the drivers involved.


Maildrop

Posted on 09-05-2016 07:53 | By Kenworthlogger

Your at it again.Where did i say maildrop says? You need to learn to read. What i did say however is "using the way you think". The number of truck crashes is due in this country mainly to lots of cars causing the crash. Go look up the stats yourself....


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