Mattresses, hay bales and ladders are turning up on Otago’s highways — hundreds of times a year.
Data supplied by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) under the Official Information Act shows there were 421 object or obstruction callouts on Otago state highways between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2025.
Nationally there were 6637 unplanned object events over the same period, indicating the problem is widespread rather than unique to the region.
Most Otago incidents were on State Highway 1 South with 281 callouts, followed by SH6 with 69 and SH8 with 33.
The typical clearance was quick. The median time from logging to closure was about 37 minutes and nine in 10 jobs were wrapped up within roughly two hours. A handful of long jobs skewed the average to a little over three hours.
NZTA system manager Mark Pinner said the mix of hazards ranged from minor to substantial.
"Sometimes it is as simple as tree branches falling on to the highway, or road cones having been shifted; but often we are talking about heavy items that have fallen from vehicles that were not properly secured or became dislodged in accidents.
"It underlines the need for vehicles such as trucks, or lighter vehicles towing trailers, to ensure that any loads are well secured.
"The Road Code does state that motorists must not drive an unsafe vehicle or a vehicle with an unsafe load which is not tied down, could fall from the vehicle, or is dragging on the ground."
NZTA said its contractors acted quickly to clear hazards and might use closures or traffic management to keep people safe while debris was removed.
"The risk is not only that items or material that fall on to the roads may disrupt traffic, but it can also potentially lead to injury if there is a collision or evasive action is taken by drivers.
"This is why we act fast to clear the obstruction, or we may put in place closures or traffic management if needed to keep people safe while the object is cleared," Mr Pinner said.
The agency supplied information from the road traffic crash database between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2025, although it noted the 2025 data was not yet complete as there was sometimes a lag between the time of a crash and full and correct crash records in the system.
Data for crashes on Otago State Highways was limited to non-vehicular obstructions, including animals.
Crashes on Otago state highways totalled 30, and the largest struck object type were straying farm animals at 16. Twelve of those were non-injury crashes, three minor injury crashes and one serious injury crash. Other objects struck included pets and wild animals, as well debris such as a landslip, ditch or boulder.
Out of 37 total factors contributing to non-vehicular crashes on Otago state highways, 23 were attributed to miscellaneous factors that were defined as sudden actions such as as evading enforcement or animals.
NZTA noted the cause of a crash could not necessarily be attributed to any one factor such as fatigue as a crash might have multiple factors.
