NHVR calls for fast reform of the PBS scheme

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has released its Removing Roadblocks to Reform paper, calling for swift reform of the Performance-Based Standards (PBS) scheme.

NHVR Chief Safety and Productivity Officer, David Hourigan, said the paper calls on industry and governments to work alongside the regulator to create positive change for the road transport sector.

“The Removing Roadblocks to Reform paper outlines how we can work hand-in-hand with our partners to remove barriers to the productivity potential of the heavy vehicle industry,” he said.

“This will help us accelerate the transition to a younger and less polluting heavy vehicle fleet, and most importantly, save lives.

“Right now in Australia, the safest, most productive, and lower emission heavy vehicles face more barriers to get on the road than a standard ‘prescriptive’ heavy vehicle, and as a result, we are seeing higher emissions, loss of productivity benefits and most concerningly, more fatalities.”

According to Hourigan, the PBS scheme needs to be modernised which will require the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) to be changed.

“We seek to work with government and industry to reset the PBS scheme’s policy settings and update the PBS standards,” he said.

Hourigan said that while the PBS scheme had proven to be popular, it was initially designed to act as a pathway for innovative designs and technologies to be safely developed and deployed.

According to Hourigan, it is now failing to operate as originally intended.

“Rather than allowing for new truck designs, it is dominated by more or less of the same vehicles,” he said.

“Of more than 20,000 PBS combinations on Australia’s roads, almost half consist of one vehicle type – the truck and dog combination.”

Through the Removing Roadblocks to Reform paper, the NHVR is calling for amendments to the HVNL to allow for mature and proven PBS vehicles to transition to the prescriptive vehicle fleet.

The NHVR will reportedly continue to engage with industry and government to seek commitment to enact positive change.

In other news, the Australian Government is investing an extra $467 million in the Bruce Highway through the Budget to improve the safety and capacity of Queensland’s major north-south road link.