New Zealand is Back On The Road

November 2020

W.D.M. Limited have started the new season in New Zealand with two SCRIM® continuous measurement survey vehicles due to cover around 23,000 kms through to February 2021.

The distinctive yellow trucks, which commence their programme in Hawkes Bay and Taupo, are commissioned by Waka Kohati (New Zealand Transport Agency) and have become a feature on the Country’s roads, in both the South and North islands, over the past 25 years.

They travel the networks at 80 kilometres per hour collecting pavement information – skid resistance, texture, roughness, rutting, geometry (gradient, cross-fall and curvature) and centreline GPS coordinates.

In addition to responding to found defects, Waka Kohati uses the data to monitor highway performance; plan future work programmes; analyse trends; and predict how road conditions might change in the future.

The two SCRIM® vehicles, S10 and S15, are unique to New Zealand, having been manufactured and designed by WDM® to deliver data as required by Waka Kohati. 

The survey data, including forward facing video, is sent back to WDM®’s offices in Wellington where it is processed, fitted to the NZ road network and verified before being issued to the Agency.

Skid resistance is a vital feature of road safety in a country such as New Zealand, with its abundant rainfall, ice, snow and surface water during heavy rain, which is thrown into the face of oncoming traffic by trucks.

Overall, since SCRIM® surveys were introduced, the number of skid-related fatalities in New Zealand has fallen by nearly 40%.”

Share this