One-lane bridges and gravel roads in New Zealand

Give way correctly

The round red sign indicates that your direction gives way; the blue rectangular sign indicates priority. Priority still requires the bridge to be clear and safe.

Wait well back so an oncoming truck or caravan has room to leave the bridge. Never stop on railway tracks incorporated into a bridge.

Adapt to gravel

Reduce speed before the loose surface, increase following distance and avoid abrupt steering or braking. Dust can hide vehicles, cyclists and livestock.

Slow significantly for oncoming traffic to reduce stone damage and maintain control near the edge.

Check the contract

Public access does not guarantee that a rental permits the road. Review unsealed-road exclusions and named prohibited routes before leaving the highway.

Turn back at washouts, deep fords or no-exit roads without turning room. A map line is not evidence of current vehicle access.

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.

Places along the way