New Zealand motorists are being urged to understand the meaning of flashing purple and amber lights on the road, as failure to recognise them could create dangerous situations for both drivers and oversized-load crews.
The lights are used by pilot vehicles escorting loads more than 5m wide. Certified load pilot Raquel Wheatley told the Herald that many motorists were unaware of what the purple lights indicated.
“If you see purple lights coming towards you, that could be a house coming, it could be machinery, it could be a wind farm component,” Wheatley said, the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
She said some drivers continued past the warning lights without realising they were approaching an oversized load.
“It’s scary seeing how many drivers drive straight past purple lights, oblivious, even when we’re trying to do our job.
“And it can take their life or it can damage the load or their car. So, it’s a really scary thing that a lot of people don’t know,” as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.
Wheatley recalled one particularly dangerous incident near Massey University in Palmerston North, where a car attempted to pass underneath a truck transporting an oversized load.
“We’re turning in and we had [the car] stopped so we’re like, ‘Sweet, we’ve got this car on the side of the road,’ and then it drove underneath a load, squeezed through the bridge, which, if they were in a ute, would have just taken the whole top of their car off,” the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
Wheatley said motorists encountering purple or amber lights should slow down and move well away from the road.
“Slow down, pull over and find a nice open area,” she said.
“Pull off into there, especially with the purple lights, and get well off the road, not just slightly off the road, the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
“I’ve seen it with houses where they’ve had to tilt over cars that have stopped in really bad positions.
“Get off the road if you’re being asked or just stop for the pilot. We want to get you home safe,” as quoted by the New Zealand Herald.
Wheatley is also hoping to improve awareness through a new app called Haulr, which she helped develop.
The app is intended to allow drivers transporting houses and other oversized loads, as well as pilot drivers, to share their location with motorists using the platform.
“The driver of a house being moved, or a pilot moving an oversized load, will be able to lodge themselves on the app and then anyone that downloads the app will be able to see exactly [where the transporter is],” she said, the New Zealand Herald has quoted.
Wheatley hopes the technology will give drivers advance warning of oversized loads and help them make safer decisions about when and where to pull over.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the warning comes alongside the introduction of another type of flashing light on New Zealand roads. Hutt Hospital has equipped vehicles used by doctors with green emergency beacons because traffic congestion in Lower Hutt can delay medical staff travelling to patients.
Under the New Zealand Road Code, green flashing lights can be used by doctors, nurses and midwives responding to emergencies or travelling on urgent medical business.
The beacons have been fitted to vehicles used by anaesthetists, intensivists and obstetricians at Hutt Hospital, alongside signs displaying “DOCTOR”, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.