Heavy vehicle drivers will no longer need to retrofit outdated pressure gauges under recent amendments to the Land Transport Rules.
The Land Transport Rule: Heavy Vehicle Brakes 2006 has been amended as part of the Land Transport Rule: Regulatory Stewardship (Omnibus) Amendment 2018.
The Omnibus consultation enables a diverse range of minor changes to several Land Transport Rules all at once, instead of consulting on each rule individually.
The final amendment rules have been made by associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter and will come into effect on June 1, 2019.
Currently, vehicle importers may need to retrofit brakes to comply with New Zealand national standards – despite many of these imports, particularly from Asia and Europe, already meeting higher standards in their country of manufacture.
Most submissions were supportive of the change to the rule, saying it is now “unnecessary, inappropriate and comparatively less safe”.
There was some concern around the need to return vehicles back to their original condition – though there will be no need to do this for vehicles which are already modified.
There are also clarifications around truck air brake applications under this rule. The definition of gross mass was also clarified, through an amendment to the Land Transport Rule: Heavy Vehicles 2004.
The associate transport minister made about 80 changes across 15 Land Transport Rules for the 2018 Omnibus Rule.
The NZ Transport Agency says changes in the latest Omnibus are necessary for a variety of reasons – from clarifying requirements to support enforcement or amending requirements to reflect current technologies.
