This study has examined consequences of the introduction of performance based standards as a means of maintaining road safety and protecting road infrastructure, while offering opportunities to increase productivity and flexibility, in both vehicle characteristics and operations, in the Australian road transport industry. Four major objectives are addressed in the study, these being: 1. to assess the potential benefits to industry, agencies and the overall economy of more flexible mass and dimension limits, and access arrangements; 2. to review alternative methods of ensuring compliance with routes travelled and mass and dimension limits, and to assess the potential costs and benefits to industry, road agencies and the overall economy of better compliance with these limits; 3. to develop guidelines for incremental pricing to allow more flexible access to the road network; 4. to review possible mechanisms to finance infrastructure improvements that may be associated with such initiatives. (Author/publisher)
Abstract