Asset Management

Road authorities in Australia and New Zealand have an established system of vehicle classification. The system is the Austroads classification system that was last updated in 1994. This system provides vehicle classification by axle configuration or by vehicle length. The axle-based classification has been found stable over the years and is well accepted by road authorities and equipment manufacturers. It is less defined on vehicle classification by vehicle length and allows for overlaps between some classes. At present road authorities have different ways to classify road traffic by vehicle length. Different breakpoints are used and some authorities do not classify vehicles by length in their routine counting programs. The need for a uniform system within a jurisdiction and across jurisdictions has become more apparent due to the rising congestion in urban areas and need for more network performance data from arterial roads and freeways. While differences exist amongst road authorities, there exist good correlations between practices and a compromise to achieve a single uniform system is possible. The project group met in a February 2006 Project Workshop and successfully developed a classification system by vehicle length for endorsement by Austroads.