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A Dunedin truck driver says he faced a choice between ploughing into oncoming traffic or driving into trees on Portobello Rd last week.
He chose the trees.
Allanton man Tony Bremner said he was making a delivery to the Otago Peninsula suburb of Harwood last Thursday when he was forced to drive into tree branches overhanging the road near The Cove on Portobello Rd.
The truck sustained about $3500 worth of damage, including a damaged skirt, a scratched cab and a broken aerial.
His Mainfreight truck was 4.2m high, but the Dunedin City Council had only trimmed trees overhanging Portobello and Harington Point Rds to 3m above the ground, he said.
"It's beyond a joke."
He said he was not the only driver of large trucks forced to cross the centre line due to low trees.
"My 67-year-old mother just about got taken out by a bus which crossed the centre line by Seaton Rd in Portobello."
He had sought compensation from the council for the damage to his truck because it failed to maintain the trees at the appropriate height for heavy vehicles, but the council was not paying up, he said.
Council acting parks and recreation group manager Robert West said in a statement the council aimed to trim trees on roadsides so that branches were at least 4.5m back from the road.
"However, it is not always practicable to trim back quite that far in every instance, as it can impact on the stability of the ground or integrity of trees."
The council was inspecting the Portobello Rd trees which damaged Mr Bremner's truck to see whether they were trimmed appropriately, and it would seek "expert advice" on what more could be done, he said.
However, the council would not offer compensation and he suggested Mr Bremner lodge a claim with his insurance company.
Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope said vegetation too close to Peninsula roads had been a problem for several years.
He was frustrated the council had failed to keep the trees in check.
"It's not good enough."