Performance based standards
Performance Based Standards (PBS) is a nationally agreed process for assessing new and safer 'innovative' heavy vehicles as an alternative to the existing prescriptive system for regulating heavy vehicles. Main Roads acknowledges the benefits of PBS and strongly endorses the PBS scheme for facilitating a safer and more productive heavy vehicle fleet.
Given the benefits of this major national transport productivity reform, Queensland now has a classified PBS road network. A map of Queensland (PDF, 4.25 MB) is available that indicates the PBS classification areas. More detailed maps containing individual roads are available from Queensland Transport.
Class A access levels have been determined and relate to access levels provided for general access, B-doubles and road trains. PBS vehicles within Class A (levels 1 to 4) can access the road network as follows:
| Level |
Maximum length (metres) |
Equivalence to current heavy vehicle routes |
| 1 |
Equal to or less than 20 m |
General access |
| 2A |
Equal to or less than 26 m |
B-double network access |
| 3A |
Equal to or less than 36.5 m |
Type 1: road train network access |
| 4A |
Equal to or less than 53.5 m |
Type 2: road train network access |
PBS vehicles will have to meet corresponding PBS performance standards. Therefore vehicle performance factors, such as swept path, braking, acceleration, stability and on-road dynamic performance will be equivalent, or an improvement, compared to current general access, B-double and road train combinations. Maximum vehicle lengths, pavement and bridge effects will be the same as vehicles currently operating on the B-double and road train network, so there will not be any adverse road infrastructure, or traffic safety, implications from this process.
Last updated: 08 June 2009
