Ponts à une voie et routes de gravier en Nouvelle-Zélande

Cédez le passage correctement

Le panneau rond rouge indique que votre direction cède ; le panneau rectangulaire bleu indique la priorité. La priorité exige toujours que le pont soit dégagé et sûr.

Attendez bien en arrière pour qu'un camion ou une caravane venant en sens inverse ait la place de quitter le pont. Ne vous arrêtez jamais sur des voies ferrées intégrées à un pont.

S'adapter au gravier

Réduisez la vitesse avant la surface meuble, augmentez la distance de suivi et évitez les braquages ou les freinages brusques. La poussière peut cacher les véhicules, les cyclistes et le bétail.

Ralentissez considérablement pour la circulation venant en sens inverse afin de réduire les dégâts causés par les pierres et de maintenir le contrôle près du bord.

Vérifiez le contrat

L'accès au public ne garantit pas qu'une location autorise la route. Examinez les exclusions de routes non goudronnées et les itinéraires interdits nommés avant de quitter l’autoroute.

Faites demi-tour aux évanouissements, aux gués profonds ou aux routes sans issue sans avoir la possibilité de tourner. Une ligne cartographique ne constitue pas une preuve de l’accès actuel d’un véhicule.

Reading a one-lane bridge sign

The sign carries two arrows. The large black arrow shows the direction with priority; the small red arrow means you give way. If the red arrow points your way, stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear before entering.

Slow on approach regardless of who has priority, and look right through the bridge to the far end before committing. Some are long enough that a vehicle can already be on it and not yet visible, and a few include a passing bay mid-span.

Bridges shared with rail

A number of one-lane bridges, particularly on the West Coast, carry a railway line down the middle or alongside the traffic lane. Trains always have priority and the signage and lights must be obeyed absolutely.

Do not stop on these bridges for photographs, and do not enter if lights are flashing. The clearances are tight and there is nowhere to go if you have misjudged it.

Driving gravel properly

Reduce speed well below what feels necessary; most gravel crashes happen because the driver was travelling at sealed-road speed. Brake and steer gently and separately, avoid sudden inputs, and expect the vehicle to move around under you, particularly in a corrugated section.

Pull over and slow right down for oncoming vehicles to reduce stone damage to both, and leave a very large gap behind anything throwing dust, because visibility can go to nothing. Windscreen chips are the most common rental damage claim on these roads.

Check your rental agreement first

Most rental agreements prohibit specific unsealed roads by name and some exclude gravel entirely, with damage on them not covered. Skippers Canyon, Ninety Mile Beach and several others are commonly named exclusions, and the vehicle is tracked.

Read the agreement before planning a route that includes gravel, and be aware that a road being open and legal does not mean your insurance follows you onto it. When in doubt, take the sealed alternative.

Punctures and windscreen damage

Stone chips are the most common damage on unsealed roads and many excess reduction products exclude glass. Check whether yours does before driving gravel, and consider the separate windscreen cover most operators offer, which is usually inexpensive.

For a puncture, get well off the road before jacking, because a vehicle on a soft or sloping gravel shoulder is genuinely dangerous. Confirm the spare, jack and brace exist and that you know the jacking points before the trip rather than during it.

On a remote gravel road with no reception, staying with the vehicle is the right call. It is shelter, it is visible, and somebody will pass eventually on almost any road that appears on a map.

Dust and following distance

Dust from a vehicle ahead can reduce visibility to nothing within seconds, and it hides oncoming traffic, corners and stock. This is the most underestimated hazard on New Zealand gravel.

Drop well back rather than pushing through, and put headlights on so others can see you. If you cannot see the road, slow to walking pace or stop somewhere visible until it clears.

Lieux sur le chemin