Heavy Vehicle Safety: the role of roadworthiness
Keywords: Heavy Vehicles
ACRS
Submission Date: 2015 Conference: ARSC
Abstract
The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) prescribes standards that must be met by a heavy vehicle before it can be used on the road. The HVNL also makes it an offence to use on a road, or permit to be used, a heavy vehicle that is unsafe. Despite this, there have been a number of recent serious road crashes in which an unsafe or un-roadworthy heavy vehicle was involved. This paper will describe the findings of work undertaken by the NTC and the NHVR to identify potential improvements to the way in which heavy vehicle roadworthiness can be assured. These will include both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches, as well as measures that could improve the effectiveness of accreditation schemes designed to ensure good maintenance practices. _x000D_
_x000D_The challenges faced in obtaining relevant data to define the scope of the safety issues associated with Heavy Vehicles that have not been maintained in a safe condition, and to determine the effectiveness of proposed safety interventions will also be discussed.