Statutory Rules
1995
No.
56
as amended
This compilation was prepared on 1 November 1999 taking into account
amendments up to SR 1996 No. 342 (not in force)
As at 1 November 1999 a commencement date has not been fixed for SR 1995
No. 56 and SR 1996 No. 342. SR 1996 No. 342 is included in this
consolidation as an extract [see Note 2]
Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting, Attorney-General's
Department, Canberra
The purpose of these Regulations is to help manage road wear and the
risk that vehicles and their loads may pose to road users.
The Regulations are intended to match load limits on vehicles with
the current capacity of roads and bridges.
The Regulations therefore impose mass limits for vehicles and combinations,
including their loads, as well as mass limits for individual tyres, wheels,
axles and axle groups. The Regulations also impose rules about the size of a
load, how far it may project from the vehicle, warning signals for certain
projections, and securing loads.
(a)
Regulation 2 (2) of Statutory Rules 1995 No. 56 provides as follows:
(2) The remaining provisions of these Regulations commence on a day or days
specified by the Commonwealth Minister by notice in the Gazette.
As at 1 November 1999 no date had been fixed and the amendments are not
incorporated in this consolidation. They are set out below under the heading
EXTRACT FROM STATUTORY RULES 1996 No. 342.
EXTRACT FROM STATUTORY RULES 1996 No. 342
3 New regulations 12 and 13
3.1 After regulation 11, insert:
12 Failure to comply with certain exemption conditions
(1)
If:
(a)
a person is prosecuted for an offence under these Regulations; and
(b)
the offence relates to the failure of a vehicle or combination to comply
with a mass or dimension limit specified in these Regulations; and
(c)
an exemption has been given under any Regulations made under the Act that
is subject to the condition that the vehicle or combination complies with a
greater mass or dimension limit than the mass or dimension limit referred to in
paragraph (b); and
(d)
at the time of the alleged offence, the vehicle or combination was
travelling:
(i)
on a route other than a route on which the vehicle or combination was
permitted to travel under a condition of the exemption; or
(ii)
at a time other than a time at which the vehicle or combination was
permitted to travel under a condition of the exemption; or
(iii)
accompanied by fewer than the number of pilot or escort vehicles
required under a condition of the exemption; or
(iv)
with an aggregate mass that is more than 10% in excess of the limit
allowed under a condition of the exemption;
the exemption must be disregarded for the purposes of the prosecution.
13 Declaring buses to be complying buses
(1)
This regulation applies to a bus with 2 or 3 axles and a
single steer axle that:
is fitted with a compliance plate in accordance with that Act but the
compliance plate indicates that the bus was manufactured before 1 July 1994.
(2)
The vehicle registration authority may declare that a bus
equipped with an approved air suspension system is a complying bus for the
purposes of these Regulations if the vehicle registration authority is
satisfied that the bus meets:
(a)
the emergency exit specifications in ADR 44; and
(b)
the rollover strength specifications in ADR 59; and
(c)
the occupant protection specifications in ADR 68.
4 Schedule (Mass and Loading Requirements)
4.1 Subclause 1.2(6):
Omit the subclause, substitute:
(6)
The sum of the mass on the axle groups and single axles on a
vehicle or combination must not exceed:
(a)
in the case of a complying bus without a trailer:
(i)
if the complying bus has 2 axles — 16.0 tonnes; and
(ii)
if the complying bus has a rear tandem axle group fitted with single
tyres on one axle and dual tyres on the other axle — 20.0 tonnes; and
(iii)
if the complying bus has a rear tandem axle group fitted with dual tyres
on both axles — 22.5 tonnes; and
(b) in the case of a combination consisting of a complying bus and a
trailer — the sum of the mass limit specified for the bus in paragraph
1.2 (6) (a) and the mass limits of the axle groups and single axles of the
trailer as provided in Table 1; and
(c) in any other case — the sum of the mass limits of the axle groups
and single axles as provided in Table 1.
4.2 Table 1 (Mass Limits for Single Axles and Axle Groups):
Omit "Single steer axle on a motor vehicle 6.0",
substitute:
"Single steer axle on:
(a)
a complying bus 6.5
(b)
any other motor vehicle 6.0".
4.3 Table 1 (Mass Limits for Single Axles and Axle Groups):
Omit "(b) a bus licensed to carry standing passengers 10.0",
substitute:
"(b) a complying bus or a bus licensed to
carry standing passengers 10.0".
4.4 Table 1 (Mass Limits for Single Axles and Axle Groups):
Omit "Tandem axle group fitted with single tyres on one
axle and dual
tyres on the other axle 13.0",
substitute:
"Tandem axle group fitted with single tyres on one
axle and dual tyres on
the other axle on:
(a)
a complying bus 14.0
(b)
any other vehicle 13.0".
4.5 Subclause 4.1 (1):
Insert the following definitions:
"ADR" (Australian Design Rule) means a national standard under the
Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989, as amended and in force from time to
time.
"approved air suspension system", in relation to a vehicle, means a
suspension system in which:
(a)
vertical movement between each axle and the body of the vehicle is
controlled by variations in the pressure of air in an air spring; and
(b)
the proportion of the vehicle's mass that is borne by the air spring
remains substantially constant despite variations in the pressure of air in the
air spring.
"complying bus"means:
(a)
a bus with 2 or 3 axles and a single steer axle that:
(i)
is fitted with a compliance plate in accordance with the Motor Vehicle
Standards Act 1989 indicating that the bus was manufactured during or after
July 1994; and
(ii)
meets the emergency exit specifications in ADR 44; and
(iii)
meets the rollover strength specifications in ADR 59; and
(iv)
meets the occupant protection specifications in ADR 68; and
(v)
is equipped with an approved air suspension system; or
(b)
a bus that is the subject of a declaration under regulation 13 or under a
corresponding law of another State or Territory.
Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations
Road Transport Reform (Mass and Loading)
Regulations