In the run up to the forthcoming federal election, Sharon Bird, federal minister for road safety, has announced the government’s decision to mandate anti-lock braking systems (ABS) from July 1 2014 for all new model trucks and January 1 2015 for all new trucks.
The amendment to Australian design rule (ADR) 35/04 has been under discussion for some time as the department of transport and infrastructure seeks to align Australian technical requirements with the global UN ECE rules governing vehicle design. The move is part of phase 2 of the national heavy vehicle braking strategy (NHVBS), developed jointly by the national transport commission (NTC) and the federal transport department after a full government review of braking ADRs, 35 and 38, beginning back in 2002.
Although the announcement has been generally welcomed and, in the main, is simply a confirmation of where the industry is currently positioned, with the majority of new trucks coming with ABS as standard anyway, there are expected to be some road safety gains.
Reservations about the changes were expressed by the Australian livestock and rural transporters association (ALRTA) in the lead up to this latest announcement. Many rural operators spend a large proportion of their time on the road in environments where the road surfaces are loose and ABS may be compromised.
“In assessing the proposal the ALRTA has sought advice from member operators, vehicle manufacturers and technical experts,” says the ALRTA in its submission to the Department of Transport and Infrastructure.
“While generally supportive of safety improvements, we have serious concerns about the cost, reliability and performance of modern ABS in remote operating environments. The practical implications of compatibility issues likely to arise when operating ‘smart’ and ‘dumb’ trailers in combination are also worrying.”
The reservations about the performance of the ABS systems on unsealed roads has lead to amendments being agreed to the ADR, in June, to ipermit the fitting of an off switch in all trucks. However, the fitment of these is likely to limited to vehicles spending all of their working life off road or road train prime movers working in areas with a large number of unsealed roads.
“I’ve spent a lot of time behind the wheel of a truck,” says Stuart St Clair, CEO of the Australian trucking association (ATA). “It’s important to drive conservatively and not rely on the technology, but it’s a great comfort knowing the ABS will kick in if it’s needed, such as if a car cuts in front of the truck on a wet road.”
“The design rules already require the prime movers that pull B-doubles to be fitted with ABS. The ATA wants to see a similar design rule imposed on trailers, which should be implemented on the same schedule as the new rule for trucks. Our advice from operators and braking experts is that ABS on trailers can be effective and reliable in all Australian conditions with basic maintenance.
“The only exemptions should be very heavy trailers that already meet the relevant brake performance standards because of their weight and the special purpose trailers used to carry large indivisible loads under over-size over-mass permits. The technology cannot yet deal with more than four axles in a single group or with axle groups where rows of eight tyres are involved. These specialised trailers are used under very restricted conditions in any case, often with escort and pilot vehicles a one-off, per-vehicle exemption available for operators with unusual needs or who operate in very harsh conditions.”
St Clair says the ATA would continue promoting the next generation of braking, Electronic Braking Systems (EBS), through its technical advisory material.
“EBS or brake-by-wire technology integrates ABS technology, automatic traction control and other key vehicle control systems,” says St Clair. “Our EBS technical advisory procedure provides truck operators with authoritative, independent technical information about these systems.”
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