The Road Transport Forum says it’s “extremely frustrated” trucking firms are having to pay the price for NZ Transport Agency’s regulatory failures.
Another recent hit to operators was felt after an ongoing investigation by NZTA into ex-heavy vehicle specialist certifier Patrick Chu of Transport and Structure Limited.
NZTA revoked the certifications of around 300 drawbars and drawbeams on heavy vehicles and trailers as a result.
This means the components must be recertified before they can be used to tow anything.
Up to 1700 further certifications have also been revoked, but the vehicle owners will either be eligible to apply for exemptions, or have exemptions automatically applied.
The exemptions will allow the components to continue to be used to tow for the periods specified in the revocation notices.
Once an exemption has expired, the drawbar or drawbeam must be recertified before it can be used to tow anything. The exemptions will be between three, six to 12 months.
During this period, trailer operating mass will be reduced to 75% of the current mass to provide for a sufficient safety margin on the equipment.
Regulatory lead and Meredith Connell managing partner Steve Haszard says “safety comes first, but we’re also aware of the impact these decisions have on the heavy vehicle industry and heavy vehicle specialist certifiers”.
“We’ve carefully considered this decision and feel that a one-size-fits-all approach is not applicable, therefore we’ve applied a number of exemptions to the vehicles affected,” Haszard says.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett says the situation with the Patrick Chu designed drawbars and draw beams is “worse than previously thought and will come as a significant blow to those road transport operators running the affected equipment”.
“While the industry accepts that the staggered programme is the only responsible way of protecting public safety, the reduction in operating mass will have significant financial ramifications for many operators and potential wider economic impacts with a reduction in their ability to carry.
“There is no doubt that the necessary load reductions will seriously impact the ability of many transport firms to fulfil their obligated freight task and will prove very stressful for operators already dealing with extremely tight margins,” Leggett says.
“Operators expect and are entitled to assurance of quality when seeking a professional engineering service on equipment that assists them in safely operating their business and securing their livelihood. For NZTA to not have appropriate oversight of these engineering services is pretty unforgivable.
“It is now absolutely critical that minister Twyford and NZTA establish a new regime where such failures can never happen again. The industry is ready and willing to engage on that,” Leggett says.
