NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWS DOES
Trish Wilson looks at the rules of the road in relation to oversized vehicles – and the problems of parking them
size W
hile the term ‘big rig’ generally applies to combinations of articulated
vehicles (lorries with trailers), in Australia it is also often used by road users referring to recreational vehicles (RVs), caravan and vehicle combinations and
campervans.The common denominators are weight and/or length of these vehicles, and the common problem is availability of parking and stopping places, in both business and/or residential areas. The ‘road train’ consists of the conventional prime mover pulling two or more trailers. They comprise the largest and heaviest road-legal vehicles with some confi gurations weighing close to 200 tonnes. The largest road trains operating in Australia operate on private property, often mine sites, and are not subject to weight and length restrictions. The majority, however, weigh between 80 and 120 tonnes, and are subject to individual state legislations, which limits road usage and access to the city.
Rules of the road The Australian Road Rules, fi rst published in 1999 and developed by the National Road Transport Commission, outline a set of guidelines for state and territory road rules. All Australian states
MATTER?
have effected these guidelines through legislation, providing local governments with general and specifi c rules for certain vehicle types (such as buses and taxis), including the stopping and parking of these vehicles. A long vehicle is one which, in combination with any trailer or load or projection, is 7.5 metres or more, while a heavy vehicle is one with a Gross Vehicle Mass of 4.5 tonnes or more. Austroads (2008) suggests that best practice parking regulations should seek to establish appropriate parking for an area, balance demands for parking, and identify objectives such as social access and support economic activity, area functionality and environmental quality throughout a district. Local government regulatory responsibilities to parking vary by jurisdiction, with all urban and regional – and many rural and remote local government bodies – incorporating parking provisions into town planning schemes. Throughout Australia, long and heavy vehicles may be parked for a maximum of one hour in built-up areas, though parking is unrestricted in non built-up areas. Further restrictions apply in various regional jurisdictions where permits may be required with additional conditions to negate causing a nuisance, placing public at risk and damaging infrastructure. For example, in South Australia, councils may apply restrictions to parking long and heavy vehicles within domestic and residential premises, as it is considered to be a change of use from residential to industrial, thus changing the amenity of the area. In Victoria, councils may require application for permits to keep, park or service long or heavy vehicles on residential property, limiting time and defi ning proximity of that vehicle to domestic sleeping areas.
Councils attend to the business of parking in various ways. The increase of large recreational vehicles has resulted in RV-friendly towns providing signed parking within amenities. In a country where road trains are often privately owned and operated, these drivers really do require the issue of parking and storing of such vehicle to be addressed. So it would appear that size does, in fact, matter.
12 SEPTEMBER 2012
www.britishparking.co.uk
Tony Strong/
shutterstock.com
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