A significant drop in the number of police roadside commercial vehicle inspections is being reported.
An Official Information Act request by Stuff.co.nz shows the number of heavy vehicle spot checks has dropped more than 13,000 over the past three years.
The number of licensed commercial vehicles on New Zealand roads, mostly trucks and buses, rose by almost 6000 to 179,157 during the same period, Stuff reports.
The information comes from police inspection records and shows there were 52,474 commercial vehicle inspections for the 12 months to June 2016, just under 48,000 for the same period in 2017, and 39,289 for the last financial year.
Police commercial vehicle safety team acting manager Mike McRandle says staff shortage was one issue but that has now been addressed, he told Stuff.
Road Transport Association chief executive Dennis Robertson says he is surprised at the figures given more trucks are hitting the road every year.
“From our point of view we want a level playing field and inspections are good because they keep everyone honest,” he told Stuff.
