NEWS
Mobile testing going nowhere THE NEW MOBILE ROLLER BRAKE TESTING (MRBT) use the non-mobile RBTM machine’s in areas where they are located.” machines being introduced as part of the ``Road to Zero” road safety We also asked the Police if there was any timeframe for the units to go campaign are proving to be anything but. Mobile that is. into service. In fact, the first five of the six new machines that should have been deployed “This is a priority for Road Policing. We are working very closely with all around the country by NZ Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Teams earlier concerned, all going well we hope to have this issue resolved by early next this year remain in storage at its Stanley Street base in Auckland. The sixth year, we can’t give an exact date though because safety is our priority.” unit has yet to be completed as parts have been delayed. The NZ CVST opened tenders for the supply of six new machines in Police Vehicle Safety Officers have been trained to use the machines but 2020. The tender requirement was for a roadside brake tester that had the eight months after their public launch in late-February, they remain idle with capacity to test fully laden vehicles. It needed to be in a self-contained trailer Police unable to provide a timeline for introduction. with a generator and an overall weight around 3000kg. The MRBT units should have been rolled out to carry out random Police went with the BM Autoteknik BM20200 system from Denmark checking of heavy vehicle braking systems nationwide, supplementing the capable of testing cars, vans, four-wheel-drives and heavy vehicles to a permanent roadside facilities in the Bay of Plenty and in North Canterbury. COF-B standard. CVST officials had identified braking system issues as a safety issue and Another requirement was for the system to be set up using just two people had identified a 67% failure rate for vehicles tested at the Paengaroa site and be ready for operation within 15 to 20 minutes of arrival to site. between 2018 and 2021. The MRBTs were to allocated around the country one per each to the four New Zealand Truck & Driver asked the NZ Police for comment regarding CVST areas and the other two in a “floating” role. T&D the delayed introduction. “Police operate Permanent Roller Brake Machines The MRBT units were designed to move around the country in car transporter trailers. (PRBMs) in Paengaroa and Glasnevin, but the mobile versions of the roller machines are being stored in Auckland until the trailers used to tow them have had an identified safety defect resolved,” says Senior Sergeant Mike Moloney, Relieving National Manager, Commercial Vehicle Safety Teams. “Police are currently working with the manufacturer, supplier and an independent engineer to resolve the safety issues before the RBTMs can be deployed more widely throughout New Zealand. “Safety is our number one priority and we are still able to 4 | Truck & Driver
