Truck and Dog Trailers get VicRoads tick of Approval for Greater Productivity

By on January 18, 2010

Compliant truck and dog trailer combinations will be able to increase their payload under new VicRoads Guidelines. VicRoad provides a summary of the situation below.

THE Victorian quarrying industry is set to make productivity gains following a VicRoads decision to allow truck and dog trailer combinations to operate at increased mass limits.

Truck and dog trailer combinations that meet the Performance Based Standards (PBS) Level Two will be granted access on a permit basis enabling them to carry increased mass (57.5 tonnes, up from 50 tonnes) on the B-double and Higher Mass Limits (HML) network.

Don Hogben, Director of Vehicle Management and Safety for VicRoads said: “Over the past 12 months, a number of 7-axle truck and dog trailer combinations have been assessed against the national Performance-Based Standards. The results have shown that well designed truck and dog trailers at up to 57.5 tonnes and 20 metres long are dynamically stable and can pass all the PBS Level Two standards. This is great news for operators of truck and trailer combinations, especially those involved in quarrying and construction.”

In Victoria alone there are in excess of 2,000 truck and trailer combinations transporting a range of quarry products, such as cement, sand, rock pre-mixed concrete and asphalt.

Philip Lovel from the Victorian Transport Association added, “The increase to 57.5 tonnes is a 15% productivity increase for the quarry industry. Over time this will mean a reduction in the number of trucks and trailers on Victoria’s roads for the same freight task, which will not only reduce congestion but will also see a decrease in carbon emissions. Furthermore these vehicles will be safer as they’ve passed a PBS assessment.”

VicRoads is currently working closely with the CMPA and the Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia to facilitate the industry’s move to compliant PBS truck and dog combinations and to ensure that this productivity benefit is communicated to all its members.

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