News & Opinion
Advantia has previously written about how the equivalency of PBS Level 1 and General Access was broken as a result of implementing the Heavy Vehicle National Law. Australian transport ministers recently approved PBS Level 1 combinations up to 42.5 tonnes GCM for automatic General Access, pending Queensland parliamentary approval of the new legislation. This is… Read more »
The National Transport Commission (NTC) recently published a discussion paper titled “Assessing the effectiveness of the PBS marketplace.” The purpose of the discussion paper was to determine if the PBS Scheme was meeting the original policy intent, to evaluate the effectiveness of the approval processes and to suggest any improvements that could help benefit all… Read more »
Paul Nordengen, Vice President (Africa) of the International Forum for Road Transport Technology (IFRTT) recently published a statement outlining the success of the Performance Based Standards (PBS) pilot project in South Africa. Paul’s statement is reproduced below: The Performance-based standards (PBS) pilot project officially started in South Africa in Nov 2007 with the commissioning of… Read more »
A recent trial of the new Performance Based Standards (PBS) ‘pre-advised’ Design Approval process is now reaching its sixth month of implementation. Under a new National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) procedure, 3- and 4-axle dog trailers towed by 3-axle trucks can enjoy a quicker, streamlined process that bypasses the PBS Review Panel. Instead, these specific… Read more »
Some great news has recently been announced for operators of Higher Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFVs) in Victoria. VicRoads announced this month that 30-metre PBS-approved combinations will now be able to access a significant portion of the arterial road network provided the gross combination mass does not exceed 68.5 tonnes. “Operators with combinations up to 30.0… Read more »
Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO touted the industry’s ‘Performance-Based Standards’ approach as an example for other sectors to follow. Published in CRT News, 10 Nov 2016 [Read article]
VicRoads has introduced new High Productivity Freight Vehicle (HPFV) networks to accommodate 30-metre A-double combinations that have been approved under the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme. Increased demand for these combinations led to VicRoads developing the networks with the aim of providing a smoother path to road access, without the need for individual route assessments…. Read more »
Two recent heavy vehicle policy developments offer productivity improvements and other benefits for truck and dog operators, but there are numerous conditions that operators need to understand. The new policies are described below. Please contact Advantia if you would like to take advantage of these opportunities. ‘SPECTS’ policy for the construction industry in urban New… Read more »
Quad axle semi-traliers and longer B-doubles with quad axles offer significant productivity benefits over standard combinations, and are an economically attractive high-productivity vehicle. Under the PBS scheme, they can be demonstrated to offer better levels of safety than conventional heavy vehicles. Recognising their potential, the industry has for many years sought access approval for these… Read more »
The PBS Scheme is finally breaking out of the truck and dog niche and finding acceptance in the wider transport community. But specifying the right solution is an expert’s job, as Trailer Magazine found. Published in Trailer magazine, Mar 2015 edition [Download PDF]
