Bugger!

There are sections of the road where we work that also carry various pipes and cables. We have to be pretty careful not to hit them. The main gas line feeding the North Island runs pretty close to the road in places, but it is well marked and regularly patrolled. The main worry are fibre optic cables, often only a metre from the edge of the road. We always contact the phone people before any digging and they mark their location after wandering around with a magic machine. If we then hit one the minimum cost to us would be $3000, and much more likely to be ten times that, so basically you grab your gear and hitch hike home and start looking for a new job. It is amazing how little is known of the location of other pipes and water mains. Often we have to rely on someones vague memories of a location, or our powers of deduction. Having a very alert digger driver helps too.