Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), compliance with prescribed speed limits is an essential issue for road safety. In this article, we explore the concept of speed limiters for heavy vehicles and the news that brought this issue back into the national focus. We also explore the various methods that can be implemented by transport companies to ensure their heavy vehicles are compliant with the road safety speed laws.

Compliance under the HVNL

The HVNL requires parties in the chain to take all reasonable steps to prevent speeding compliance offences. This can be partly achieved by fitting company vehicles with a speed limiter that complies with the Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 65/00 – Maximum Road Speed Limiting for Heavy Goods Vehicles and Heavy Omnibuses) 2006 (Vehicle Standard) and HVNL. The Vehicle Standard and HVNL both require vehicles more than 4.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass to be speed limited at 100 km/h. They also provide that a person must not tamper with a speed limiter fitted to a heavy vehicle in such a way that it enables the vehicle to be driven at a speed higher than the speed permitted by the HVNL or if it results in the speed limiter recording inaccurate information.

The incentive for parties to 'tamper' or 'adjust' a speed limiter is clear. Everyone runs on a deadline and if a driver can reach a destination sooner rather than later, then this an attractive proposition for parties in the Chain. However, in the discussion paper titled "Enforcement Approaches for Speeding Heavy Vehicles" issued by the National Transport Commission has uncovered a number of issues in relation to speeding including (but not limited to):

  1. speeding is a significant factor in heavy vehicle crashes and is likely to be a greater risk with heavy vehicles than lighter vehicles
  2. there is an adverse effect on the community from fatalities and injuries from heavy vehicle crashes where speeding is a factor
  3. heavy vehicle drivers can be put under pressure from other parties in the supply chain to meet deadlines, which can influence on-road speeding; and
  4. speeding heavy vehicles attract higher operating and maintenance costs.

Why has this come about?

The issue of speed compliance recently come to the fore after a number of heavy vehicle enforcement operations across the country involving defective speed limiters.

For example, on 8 March 2017, officers from the NSW Joint Traffic Task Force, were conducting heavy vehicle enforcement on the Newell Highway, Brockelhurst where they found a truck to have a non-compliant speed limiter, allowing it to travel to a maximum speed of 150km/h. As a result, the driver of the truck was issued with an infringement notice for having a non-compliant speed limiter. It was noted by the Assistant Commissioner of NSW Police Michael Corboy that the NSW Police Force would continue to target those in the trucking industry who are putting lives at risk. It goes without saying that vehicles that can operate at speeds above the permissible limit are a danger to everyone on the road.

Methods of testing

A real practical compliance issue arises for drivers – how can a driver tell that a company-provided heavy vehicle has a compliant and functioning speed limiter installed before hitting the road?

Generally, businesses and investigators use a variety of testing methods, including:

  1. 'Roadside' testing – involves hooking a computer up to the vehicle and accessing the controlling computer program (usually required to be conducted by a trained mechanic or authorised person)
  2. GPS matching – analysing GPS location/vehicle tracking vs speedo readings to detect any inconsistencies
  3. Data download – download the vehicle's speed records and review for instances of speeding, including permitted speeding over the speed limited range.

Often, more than one method is used to cross-check and verify results.

At the outset, you can see that most drivers are not going to be able to utilise any of these methods to confirm that the truck that they have been given is speed limiter compliant, before they hit the road. As a matter of practice, drivers can typically only verify the fitting and functioning of a speed limiter by taking the vehicle up to 100km/h and seeing if the speed limiter kicks in. However, if a speed limiter is not fitted or functioning, the driver has already (and unknowingly) committed an offence before they have the opportunity to test the vehicle.

Drivers can seek some assurance by first ensuring that an operator has in place speed testing and reporting policies, which at least indicate that that the operator is aware of its obligations and has in place systems which seek to ensure compliance.

If a driver suspects that a vehicle's speed limiter may be defective or non-compliant, they must stop driving, report the problem and attempt to resolve it prior to resuming their journey.

Reporting

It is also essential that businesses have clear systems and policies in place for reporting and repairing speed limiters while also having clear policies in place for deterring speed limiter tampering. As we have said countless times, the purpose of the Chain of Responsibility laws is to ensure that all parties have policies and procedures in place to avoid breaches of road transport laws. We would also like to acknowledge and thank Mr Justin Fleming of Trucksafe for his input into this article. Mr Fleming provided insight into the practical issues relating to speed limiter compliance, including various methods of testing compliance. Any shortcomings or omissions are our own.

This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.