With the first ratings under the new ‘operator rating system’ (ORS) expected to be made public in January 2013, commercial vehicle owners and operators will be keenly aware of how CoF inspection results forms an integral part of the ORS result.
ORS is designed to improve the safety of heavy vehicles on roads by incentifying transport operators to comply their vehicles and improve driving practices to achieve a higher pass mark. The system aims to flush out high-risk operators and work with them to help them improve their rating.
Overall ratings are compliance based, with CoF central to that, along with roadside inspections. Traffic offences are also considered when issuing ratings.
A rating is dependent on an inspection result being accurately obtained and entered, which is what present CoF transport service delivery gents (TSDAs) do.
CoF-providing TSDAs are keen to maintain their dominant market positions within the CoF service delivery space, an understandable viewpoint given the major capital investment required to deliver CoF.
Many vehicles currently go through CoF as a part of an overall service process, with faults identified and rectified contemporaneously. A TSDA concern is that by easing cost barriers and market entry into CoF service delivery, new entrants will not have been through as strict a compliance process as the current TSDAs, be less well equipped and place overriding focus around commercial rather than safety issues.
There is also concern that past vehicle failures will not be accurately recorded, which will skew the ORS results and provide potentially higher pass marks.
Published ORS ratings are set to be issued from 2013 onwards, and these can be printed on the vehicle. If a vehicle is stopped at a roadside inspection a good rating should swiftly ease passage through the checkpoint further incentifying owners and operators to fulfil regulatory obligations, which it is hoped will lead to a greater culture of voluntary compliance among commercial operators.
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/commercial/assistance/ors/index.html
