The Australian Trucking Association has welcomed the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s decision to extend the current transitional arrangements for brake testing in NSW to 29 September 2017.

The transitional arrangements apply to brake tests using roller brake testers. These testers measure the force applied by a truck’s brakes as each set of wheels turns on rollers. Roller brake testers are used by government agencies to enforce vehicle standards and by trucking operators as part of checking and servicing their fleets.

The CEO of the ATA, Ben Maguire, said the extension would give the NHVR and the industry more time to finalise the testing procedure.

“The ATA has worked closely with the NHVR on providing input to the procedure, through a team led by the Chair of our Safety Committee, Tim Knowles, and also including technical consultant Bob Woodward, Dan Cleary from Nepean Transport Equipment and ATA senior engineering adviser Chris Loose,” Mr Maguire said.

“We welcome the NHVR’s change in thinking and are looking forward to working with the regulator and NSW RMS to finalise the new testing procedure over the coming months.”

During the NSW transition period, trucks that achieve a brake test result greater than 3kN/t, but less than 4.4kN/t will be issued with an official warning on first time detection.

The transition period was due to end on 30 June.