Mass. Distance. Location. Three little words, fairly inoffensive in their own right, but when brought together capable of causing fierce debate and divide within the road transport industry. In the name of charging reforms, the notion of the state charging operators for every heavy vehicle trip on the basis of the weight of the vehicle,… Read more »
When the Performance Based Standards (PBS) Scheme was first conceived about 15 years ago, it was thought that one day some PBS trucks would become so abundantly popular that they would be written into the regulations to become as-of-right configurations. In effect, the PBS Scheme would have been the petri dish that spawned them, road-tested… Read more »
Brakes are arguably the single most critical safety item on a heavy vehicle, but often too little thought is given to braking performance, and brakes can be overlooked during routine maintenance. This is becoming a concern now more than ever to heavy vehicle safety as productivity increases and higher payloads place increased demands on braking… Read more »
For the past four years, heavy vehicles have been prohibited from using the right-hand lane of two sections of Melbourne’s freeway network: the Princes Freeway between Kororoit Creek Road and Avalon Road (39 km), and the Eastern Freeway between Springvale Road and Hoddle Street (18 km). According to VicRoads, these exclusion lanes are “aimed at… Read more »
Since 2008 Advantia has built itself up on a foundation of technical excellence, understanding client needs and delivering high-quality outputs. This approach to business proved so successful that demand for Advantia’s services continually increased. Company Director Rob Di Cristoforo wanted to keep building on the previous successes of the company and to continue to meet… Read more »
A not-so-subtle change has crept into PBS with the introduction of the Heavy Vehicle National Law, and the deathly silence around it is staggering. According to the PBS Network Classification Guidelines approved by Ministers in 2007, Level 1 road access means General Access, “subject to a 50 tonne gross mass limit, posted local restrictions and… Read more »
Something about the PBS approval process doesn’t sit well with me and must be changed immediately. Under the rules, a qualified engineer who is accredited as a PBS Assessor uses specialised software to determine that a heavy vehicle meets the standards. If it does, they submit an application to the NHVR. The NHVR then submits… Read more »
Contrary to what you may think, roll stiffness is not necessarily the most important consideration when comparing the vehicle dynamics effects of one suspension with those of another. Roll stiffness is indeed important for some aspects of heavy vehicle stability, such as steady-state rollover threshold, because a higher roll stiffness reduces the amount of body… Read more »
Performance-based size and weight regulation is changing the way Australia’s trailer manufacturers do business. Free of the encumbrances of conventional size and weight rules, early-adopters are building the equipment they want, and gaining market share. The ink had barely dried on the ministerial approval of Australia’s Performance Based Standards (PBS) Scheme when the naysayers collectively… Read more »
It wasn’t until the Safety Drive Days at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway in early March that I realised just how much effort this industry is putting into promoting the benefits of advanced truck and trailer safety technologies. At first I couldn’t understand why the delivery of such a simple message was such hard work, but then… Read more »
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