Truck drivers are at their wits end with dangerous corners on Rimutaka Hill Road.

Since NZTA rules changed in 2013, some trucks are now two and a half metres longer to meet safety requirements.

Road Transport Association area executive Sandy Walker said the new length of some trucks meant they were less likely to roll, but they presented a new safety threat. 

Walker said drivers had no choice but to cross the centre line to get around Rimutaka Hill Road’s tight corners in their longer trucks.     

“They can’t put the front of the left side of the truck any further to the left because it’s already almost rubbing the guard rail and the trailer now naturally has to cross the centre line.”

Walker said the industry had spent millions of dollars on new equipment to meet the safety requirements and had done everything in its power to help reduce the risk of a collision.

He said it was now up to the NZTA to act.

“Ideally the diggers need to come out and those corners need to be shaven back for better vision and the turning of those trailers,” Walker said.

NZTA national directions manager Leigh Mitchell said she accepted that Rimutaka Hill Road was a vital but challenging route between Wellington and Wairarapa.

“We are continuing to look at solutions, both short and longer term, to provide a safe, resilient and efficient link between Wellington and the Wairarapa,” she said.

Mitchell said in the meantime the NZTA has already taken some measures to improve safety around challenging corners.

They included electronic truck warning signs on three of the hill’s tight corners, 23 kilometres of rumble strips and 3 kilometres of new roadside barriers.

Mitchell said the NZTA would continue working with the Road Transport Association on the issue.

She would not confirm whether carving out cliff faces on the hill’s most dangerous corners was on the cards.