In 1999 the National Road Transport Commission (NRTC) and Austroads initiated a major joint project to develop Performance-Based Standards (PBS) for heavy vehicle regulation in Australia and New Zealand. This paper discusses the principles that will form the foundations of PBS and spells out the likely process that will be followed in determining what and how vehicles can operate under the system. The report also identifies the benefits of moving to Performance Standards and the key issues in implementing a PBS approach. This paper identifies 25 proposed performance standards against which the Australian heavy vehicle fleet is being tested. Concerns about the accuracy of available computer models have been addressed by a comparison of three simulation packages using a standard set of input data. The paper reviews some parts of a large body of work being undertaken over a three-year period. Readers are referred to a number of substantive reports published by the NRTC for in-depth technical background on specific issues discussed here; policy principles, selecting and setting performance standards, and assessing computer simulation models. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214058.
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