The NZ Transport Agency says there was significant interest from the trade in a number of key issues at Transport and Heavy Equipment Expo, held at mystery Creek earlier this month.
The agency’s presence gave road freight owners and operators a chance to talk heavy vehicle safety and compliance with staff from the agency, police from the Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit (CVIU) and representatives from the Waikato Regional Council road safety team.
NZTA regional manager, access and use, David Pearks, says there was a lot of interest in High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMVs), the Vehicle Licensing Reform, the Operator Rating System (ORS) and the importance of maintenance and safety checks on heavy vehicles.
“Our free seminars held both on our own site and at the NZ Trucking site were also well attended by truck drivers and others from the freight industry,” says Pearks.
“The team received a lot of questions about HPMV and dimensions, particularly on the permitting process and on non pro-forma vehicles.”
Pearks says RUC was another popular focus for site visitors’ queries.
“Most of the operators we spoke to appeared to be more accepting of these and were getting to grips with the new requirements,” he claims.
“The majority of the questions were centred on HPMV and what combinations of trailer configurations could be used in relation to the new charging system.
“People also wanted to know about the ORS – how its scoring system works and what the likely consequences of a poor score would be.”
Pearks says it’s been great for the NZTA’s team and partners to be able to talk directly to people in, and outside the freight industry at the event.
“It’s an important step in helping people improve safety for themselves and other road users, thanks to the discussions, displays and take-home information they’ve had access to at this Expo.”
