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NHVR SEEKS FEEDBACK ON BUS AND TRUCK PBS TYRE REFORM

IMPROVED DATA and a national classification system are two of the options being explored in an independent discussion paper into the performance of tyres used on the Performance Based Standards (PBS) fleet, it’s reported recently.

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) chief engineer Les Bruzsa has released the Review of Tyre Management Practices in the Australian PBS System by road safety expert John de Pont for industry feedback.

“With almost one-in-five new heavy vehicles approved under the PBS scheme, we want to take a best-practice approach to the management of tyres on the PBS fleet,” Bruzsa said.

“Currently two assessors assessing the same vehicle with the same tyres using the same software can get different results for some PBS standards if they obtain their tyre data from different sources.

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“This is another step towards a consistent approach between manufacturers and giving heavy vehicle operators and manufacturers certainty in how we measure tyre performance.”

The review looked at the effects of tyre characteristics on safety performance, key tyre performance parameters, the performance of bus, coach and truck tyres currently available in Australia and the effects of tyre designs, tread patterns, case types, sizes, materials and operating conditions.

The NHVR engaged Mr de Pont in November 2018 to conduct the review of PBS tyres. His discussion paper explores four possible options including: establish a centralised database of tyre data; specify one set of generic tyres for all assessments; non-hierarchical classification system; and hierarchical classification system.

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER 

According to de Pont in the report: “This discussion paper provides a broad overview of the state of knowledge of how tyres behave and what the key tyre characteristics are in relation to the performance measures in the PBS scheme.

“The tyre properties discussed include inflation pressure, vertical stiffness, lateral force, aligning moment and relaxation length.”

See the Review of Tyre Management Practices in the Australian PBS System at www.nhvr.gov.au/about-us/consultation

Feedback on the paper is open until 28 March, 2019, and is to be provided back to j.depont@ternz.co.nz

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