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Cover of Expansion of the Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool (PBS RAT)
Expansion of the Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool (PBS RAT)
  • Publication no: AP-R503-16
  • ISBN: 978-1-925294-93-4
  • Published: 6 January 2016

This report summarises the outcomes of an Austroads project which investigated expansion options and priorities for the Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool (PBS RAT). The PBS RAT is an online tool designed to help local government road managers determine the most appropriate heavy vehicle configurations for operation on local road assets.

Federal, state and local road managers, as well as industry experts, were consulted to prioritise system development directions.

The report identifies and ranks system expansion priorities based on factors such as demand, importance, impact, usability and development feasibility. It also proposes undertaking a more focused investigation using the priorities identified in this initial investigation.

  • Summary
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1. About PBS RAT and the Scoping Study
    • 1.2. Project Aim
    • 1.3. Scope
  • 2. Identification and Prioritisation Method
    • 2.1. Consultative Workshops
    • 2.2. Information Sources
    • 2.3. Prioritisation Method
      • 2.3.1. Overview of Method
      • 2.3.2. Nomenclature
      • 2.3.3. Prioritisation Parameters
    • 2.4. Prioritisation Process
  • 3. Preliminary Results
    • 3.1. Identified Topic Areas
    • 3.2. Description of Proposed Functionality Areas
    • 3.3. Freight Applications
      • 3.3.1. Prescriptive (non-PBS) Vehicles
      • 3.3.2. Structures (Bridges)
      • 3.3.3. Bridge Data Collection Module
      • 3.3.4. Heavy Vehicle Safety Route Assessment Tool
      • 3.3.5. Swept Path
      • 3.3.6. Amenity
      • 3.3.7. Pavement and Surface Condition
      • 3.3.8. Over Size Over Mass (OSOM) Access
      • 3.3.9. Pricing
      • 3.3.10. Volume-based Consideration
      • 3.3.11. Telematics/Enforcement
      • 3.3.12. Higher Mass Limits (HML)
      • 3.3.13. Heavy Vehicles Rest-areas Prioritisation Tool
      • 3.3.14. Network Operations Planning for Heavy Vehicles
    • 3.4. Non-freight Applications
      • 3.4.1. On-street Parking
      • 3.4.2. Cycling and Pedestrian RAT
      • 3.4.3. Road Safety Assessment Modules
      • 3.4.4. Speed Limits and Speed Management
      • 3.4.5. Unsealed Roads
    • 3.5. Responses and Response Rates
    • 3.6. Summary of Initial Results
    • 3.7. Observations
    • 3.8. Further Prioritisation
      • 3.8.1. Principles of Further Prioritisation
      • 3.8.2. Prioritisation Results
  • 4. Discussion
    • 4.1. Classification of Non-PBS Vehicles
    • 4.2. Collection of Consistent National Bridge Data
    • 4.3. Swept Path
    • 4.4. Safety Module
    • 4.5. Draft Development Priorities
  • 5. Recommendations
  • Appendix A Response Template
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