Specifications

Brake assessment manual Ver 1.0 Published October 2013 4 (48 pages)
Brake assessment manual
Scope
This Brake assessment manual (the Manual) applies to all types of light vehicles, except
motorcycles. It is intended to be used to assess the brake systems of modified vehicles and
individually constructed vehicles.
Notes:
1. The term ‘vehicle’ used in this Manual refers to light vehicles, being vehicles with a gross vehicle
mass of 4.5 tonnes or less.
2. From hereon, the term ‘modified vehicle’ also applies to ICVs except where stated otherwise.
3. Terms that are italicised are defined in Appendix 1.
Introduction
The Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2007 (the Regulation) requires that all
registrable vehicles comply with the applicable vehicle standards, and modified vehicles
continue to comply with those standards; and that the vehicle and its parts and equipment
are suitable for safe use and are in a thoroughly serviceable condition.
To assist vehicle owners in meeting these obligations, the Roads and Maritime Services has
created a modification scheme under the Regulation known as the ‘Vehicle Safety
Compliance Scheme’ (the VSCCS). This authorises persons with appropriate technical
qualifications, training and experience, known as ‘licensed certifiers’, to inspect a modified
vehicle and issue a compliance certificate if they are satisfied that it complies with the
applicable vehicle standards. Except for purposes relating to compliance certification, a
vehicle that has undergone a significant modification (i.e. one that requires a compliance
certificate), must not be used on a road or road related area unless a compliance certificate
has been issued for the vehicle. (For more information, refer to clauses 52, 55A, 76AC, 76AD
and 76AF of the Regulation.)
A vehicle’s braking system is its singly most important crash avoidance equipment. If a
vehicle’s brakes are modified, or if the vehicle is otherwise modified in a manner that affects
its braking system, it is essential that the effectiveness of its brakes is verified before the
vehicle is registered and allowed full access to the road network. Similarly, the brakes fitted
to an individually constructed vehicle (ICV) must be assessed to ensure they meet minimum
safety standards, regardless from where the brakes were sourced. This Manual identifies
thirty-one different types of modifications/ICVs that affect a vehicle’s braking system which
require assessing and certification, and these are identified in Table 1.
Note: From hereon, the term ‘‘modifier’ means the owner or the registered operator of a vehicle as
used in the Regulation, whether or not the person actually does the modifications themselves.
Standards for brake systems and components are complex, and it requires extensive,
expensive testing, some at high speed, to verify a modified vehicle’s compliance with them.
The methods outlined in this Manual are intended to provide a licensed certifier with sufficient
information to enable them form an opinion that a modified vehicle is safe and may pass the
tests specified by the applicable standard if subjected to them.
The level of assessment a vehicle must undergo to obtain a compliance certificate is based
on the extent of the modification and the risk they pose to the vehicle’s occupants and other
road users. There are a number of options for obtaining a compliance certificate for the
modified vehicle, and these are:
1. Inspection of approved aftermarket components.
2. Assessment based on tests previously done on a similar vehicle.
3. Assessment based on installation checklist and data from a static brake test machine.
4. Application of a series of road tests.