Page 4454 - Week 15 - Thursday, 22 November 1990
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As part of this package, which was agreed to in principle by the Government, a new Australian Design Rule, known as ADR 65, will come into effect in Australia on 1 January 1991. The intent of the ADR is to limit the road speed of heavy vehicles by enforcing the fitment of devices, if necessary, to ensure that vehicles are incapable of exceeding 100 kilometres an hour. The ADR will apply to heavy vehicles, including trucks and buses, manufactured on or after 1 January 1991. Another measure in the package, Mr Speaker, relates to the fitting of speed limiting devices to vehicles which are already in service to ensure that they also are incapable of exceeding 100 kilometres per hour.
The Bill provides that certain heavy vehicles which were manufactured on or after 1 January 1988 will be required to have devices fitted to them to limit the maximum speed of the vehicle. The requirement does not apply to all vehicles manufactured on or after 1 January 1988. Vehicles which are unable to exceed 100 kilometres per hour will not be required to have devices fitted. The engine performance and gear ratios of some vehicles render fitment unnecessary.
Further, the Bill initially relates only to heavy goods vehicles over 20 tonnes gross vehicle mass and buses over 14.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass manufactured on or after 1 January 1988, although this will be extended to include heavy vehicles over 15 tonnes gross vehicle mass from 1 January 1992.
The Bill provides for a phase-in period, Mr Speaker. Owners of vehicles which fall within the requirements of the Bill will be required to comply with the Bill at the time of the next registration of the vehicle. This means that, depending on the date of manufacture of a vehicle and its date of next registration, owners could have up to two years in which to meet the requirements.
Provisions already exist within the Motor Traffic Act to exempt from compliance, by ministerial determination by notification in the Gazette, certain vehicles or classes of vehicle. It is proposed that, as in New South Wales, all vehicles which are being used wholly within a radius of 80 kilometres from a depot at which the vehicle is usually stationed will be exempted. It also ensures that our ACT operators are not disadvantaged against operators from New South Wales, particularly those living in the shadow of the ACT, such as Queanbeyan and Yass.
All States have agreed to the introduction of this measure with a commencement date of 1 January 1991. ACT Government vehicles will be required, through administrative arrangements, to comply with the provisions of the Bill in the same way as private operators of heavy vehicles.
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